Finding Home, Finding the Stone
by Trucbiduleschouettes
Summary: Harry and Rohini Potter have been living with the Dursleys ever since their parents died. Things will change drastically for the twins on their 11th birthday when the two siblings discover that they are actually wizards... and process to embark on a perilous adventure to understand one of Hogwarts' most well kept secrets.
1. Chapter 1

Rohini Potter was a troublesome kid. Smart? Yes. A good student? Pretty much, math aside. Always looking for trouble? Undoubtedly so. There wasn't a single week since they found Harry and her on their front step that the Dursleys spent without a call from school.

The truth was, she did it partly because she enjoyed taking some risks (the number of time she broke a bone was astonishing), but mostly because as long as the Dursleys' attention was on her, they will forget about Harry. Harry who lived in a cupboard under the stairs. Harry, who would sometimes spend days without a proper meal, Rohini having to discreetly bring him pieces of bread and cheese when Uncle Vernon wasn't looking.

It's not that Rohini was treated well herself; just like her brother, she had to do all the housework for the Dursleys and never had the chance to celebrate their birthday properly. But at least she had a real bedroom and Dudley never hit her, though it was probably because the only time he had tried, she had bite him so hard he had kept the mark for a month.

Another detail was that unlike Harry, there was a single picture of her at age 5 on the mantelpiece, surrounded by a hundred portraits of her cousin. When they were guests for dinner however, the picture was put back into one of the kitchen drawer and the twins will have to pretend they didn't exist, hiding in their respective bedroom.

Xxx

It was Harry who woke her up that morning, knocking three times before entering her bedroom as she didn't answer. Rohini was many things, but a morning person wasn't one of them. Harry opened her curtains to let the sun light inside, but she only groaned and hid her head under her pillow. She heard him chuckle before he gently shook her shoulder.

"Wake up, it's already nine!" He said, and Rohini mumbled something into her mattress. "What?"

"I said, it's your turn to cook breakfast." She repeated, throwing her pillow at her brother before sitting. Since they were old enough to hold a pan and cook bacons, the twins took turn to make the Dursleys' breakfast.

"It's Dudley's birthday, we're going to the zoo." Harry explained and Rohini quickly glance at the calendar above her bed before letting out a long sigh. Dudley's birthday – how could she have forgotten? Already, she could hear him shouting at them to hurry up and before she could get out of bed, Aunt Petunia was standing at her doorstep like a vulture with her chin high and her lips pinched.

"You are still in bed? Get up and get dressed! And you-"she said towards Harry, "Get out and do something about your hair!"

"Yes Aunt Petunia." The two Potters answered in unison with an evident lack of enthusiasm. As her aunt slapped the door shut behind her and Harry, Rohini slipped out of her bed and looked around to see if she had any clothes she could wear again before throwing them into the dirty laundry pile.

If Harry was forced to wear Dudley's old clothes which made him look even skinnier and smaller that he was, Rohini found herself wearing ugly cardigans and bland skirts that belonged to Aunt Petunia. She only possessed one pair of blue jeans that should have ended up in a bin a long time ago and that she choose to wear that day

When she was done she went down into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents and she bitterly thought that he got more gifts in one day that Harry and her combined in almost ten years.

"Dudley got a racing bike." Harry told her, pointing at the gift next to the couch. Rohini snorted.

"Why? The poor thing will break as soon as he sits on it." She pointed out, mimicking Dudley falling on his butt and making Harry smile discreetly. If it wasn't for their clothes and the funny looking scar on Harry's forehead, there truly was no way to tell who was who since Rohini cut her hair a week ago. When she had seen the result, Aunt Petunia had shriek like a Harpy and locked her in her room for the rest of the day. Otherwise, she was just as skinny as Harry with a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes but an inch taller than him. It was just an inch, but still.

"Why are we going to the zoo, too?" Rohini asked and her Uncle threw her a nasty glance; one of the first things they had been taught was: never ask questions if you want to stay out of trouble. It's Aunt Petunia who answered her with a disapproval look at Rohini's pants.

"Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take you." Mrs. Figg was a crazy old cat lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it here but Rohini somehow found her quite nice, though the smell of cabbage and the fact they had to look at her cats' pictures the whole day wasn't so cool. At least, she made them cookies and let them watch TV.

Judging by Dudley's face, he must have fake tears to make sure the two siblings will not come but to Rohini's surprise, it hadn't work this time. It felt like a victory of some kind. Spending a whole day with the Dursleys was quite awful, but at least they were going to the zoo for the first time in their life.

Xxx

Half an hour later they were sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Dudley taking half the space. Before they had gotten into the car, Uncle Vernon had grabbed them by the arms and pulled them aside, pointing one of his fat fingers at them.

"I'm warning you two," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now,—any funny business, anything at all—and you'll not have a single meal for a week. And you," he turned to Rohini, "will do Dudley's homework until Christmas."

"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…". Rohini just shrugged, staring at a magpie on the roof for she knew Uncle Vernon wouldn't believe them anyway.

The problem was, strange things often happened around them; Once, Aunt Petunia had took the scissors and cut Harry's hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.

Another time, Dudley had been chasing after Harry and Rohini was too far away to stop him but as she shouted "Stop!" Dudley had tripped and rolled like a balloon across the field even though the ground was perfectly flat.

The most surprising case must have been when Dudley's gang where chasing them and the twins had somehow ended up on the school's roof. Rohini was always prompt to climb trees, yes, but even she had no idea how they had ended up so high especially since Harry himself wasn't a climber. The headmistress, furious, had expulsed them for the rest of the week but it was nothing next to their uncle's wrath that day.

Xxx

It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. Rohini took Harry's hand and squeezed it hard; she often felt pretty uncomfortable and nervous when surrounded by people. The Dursleys bought Dudley a large chocolate ice cream at the entrance and Harry was able to get a lemon ice cream thanks to the lady in the van who had spotted him before the Dursleys could hide him. Rohini only asked for a strawberry chewing-gum for she knew how Aunt Petunia hated seeing "ladies eating like cows".

Harry seemed to be having the time of his life, a bright smile on his face as a little monkey stared at him with his huge eyes. They were careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys who were happy to pretend they weren't here together. Rohini was less enthusiastic; she made a few jokes about how the gorillas looked like Dudley, but was quiet otherwise, trying to avoid bumping into visitors.

That's when they reached the reptile house; it was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. There were tropical sounds coming from the loudspeakers and fake vines climbing towards the ceiling. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Rohini felt calmer there and finally dropped Harry's hand to rest her forehead against the glass separating the crowd from a huge snake asleep on a stone. Dudley pushed her with his elbow to stare at the animal with a stupid grin on his face.

"Make it move," he ordered at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.

"Do it again," Dudley said. His dad rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.

"Can't you just leave him alone, you _crétin_?" Rohini snapped, using a French word she had learnt in class for she knew neither Dudley nor his parents spoke French.

"This is boring," Dudley moaned before leaving.

Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. "He must be dying of boredom." He said in a low voice and Rohini nodded. "Can you imagine having people disturbing you all day long like that?"

"I guess it feels the same as when Uncle Vernon knocks at our door until we wake up." Rohini suggested. "Thought at least we can escape the house to go to school and visit Miss Figg."

"Hardly better." Harry said and they were getting ready to move to another tank when something odd happened; the snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head… and winked at them.

"Holy-!" Rohini said, taking a step backward, eyes opened wide. "Have you seen that?"

The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, and then raised its eyes to the ceiling. The twins exchanged a shocked glance before kneeling in front of the tank to be at the same eye level as the reptile.

"Can you hear us?" Harry asked and to their surprised, the snake nodded.

"Wow, Harry! He can understand us!" Rohini said, before asking "Do you have a name? Where are you from?"

The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass that read 'Boa Constrictor, Brazil. This specimen was bred in the zoo'.

"Oh, you don't even have a name…" Rohini said before the moment was wasted by Dudley.

"MUM, DAD, LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" Their cousin shouted before pushing the twins away. Colliding together, the Potters clenched their teeth and threw him a nasty glance.

That's when the accident happened: one second Dudley was slapping the glass with his hands, the next he was screaming inside the tank after falling into the water. The glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had simply vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. As for the twins, they just stared with their mouths opened in a silent "Oh!".

As the snake slid off the tank, he stopped and seemed to smile at the two siblings as he hissed a "Thanksssss…" to which Harry answered "You're welcome." And left. A sudden screech announced that Aunt Petunia was near and soon every Dursleys were screaming in terror for Dudley was stuck inside the tank as the glass had magically returned right after the snake's escape.

Rohini couldn't hold back a sudden burst of laugher, and Harry himself smiled before a nasty glance from their Uncle sobered them up.

"You- Wait for us to be back!" He threatened before his attention went to the security members trying to calm them as one of the team members get inside the tank to pick up a shocked and soaked Dudley. The Zoo owners were absolutely devastated to learn about what had happened and offered Aunt Petunia a cup of tea and a glass of whisky for Uncle Vernon As well as a free entrance ticket to use another time.

Xxx

Back to the house, Uncle Vernon was as red as a beet and so angry he could hardly speak as he threw Harry inside the cupboard and locked the door before grabbing Rohini by the arm and pushing her into the stairs. "You will not leave this room until I've decided so!" He shouted before locking her up inside her bedroom. Rohini tried to force the handle, in vain. Furious, she kicked the door and hissed at the pain that ran through her toes before throwing herself on her bed and shouting into her pillow.

Curse the Dursleys! She'd lived with them for almost ten years now, ten miserable years ever since Lily and James Potter had died in a car accident that had somehow left Harry with his scar but didn't left a single one on Rohini. The only thing she could recall in relation to the crash was an odd green flash of light and the screams of her mother. The nightmares woke her up sometimes, shaking and covered in sweat.

It was obvious that Aunt Petunia hated her deceased sister for there was not a single picture of Lily in the house, the same way there wasn't a single picture of Harry in the living room. Asking questions about their parents was forbidden too and Rohini remembered a particularly violent dispute with her Aunt about it one day. In the end, the only person she could really consider a family member was Harry.

They had no friends at school either; once a girl named Marie had tried to befriend them, but Dudley and his gang had harassed her until she couldn't see the twins without bursting in tears. Worse, it seemed that the more years passed, the more people joined their cousin into his bullying sessions.

Yes, the Potters truly were alone against the rest of the world.

 **Xxx**

Rohini wasn't allowed to leave her bedroom for the next four hours until she threatened Aunt Petunia to pee in her pants if she didn't open the door. It was a disgusting tactic, yes, but efficient. Dinner was quiet that evening, Dudley still too shocked to speak and his parents too furious to do anything but threw nasty glances at Rohini. Once again, Harry wasn't allowed to share their meal and Rohini discreetly unlocked her brother's door before going to bed so he would be able to sneak out into the kitchen at night.

She couldn't sleep that night, the whole afternoon playing in her head again and again. How did the glass vanish for a few seconds? It was simply impossible. But then again, it was probably impossible for two babies to survive a car crash without a single scratch (well, almost in Harry's case) and yet here they were. Finally she fell asleep, but not for long; for the second time of the week, Rohini woke up in sweat and crying as she remembered a flash of green light and her mother's screams.

Picking up a walkie-talkie she hid under her bed, Rohini called her brother's name. Harry must be deep asleep for he didn't answer. Rohini put the radio back and looked at the numbers on her alarm: it was now 02:02 am.

"Make a wish…" She mumbled to herself before closing her eyes. She wished for Harry and her to be far, far away from Privet Drive and also for them to get the best presents for their tenth birthday. Of course, both wishes were impossible but again, impossible things seemed to be the Potters' lot.

As she fell asleep once more, Rohini thought she heard the distant hoot of an owl.


	2. Chapter 2

Rohini was glad school was finally over. She was tired of counting how many watermelons Mister Smith was left with if you took off ten percent of his storage or having to write a poem about a pet she never had. Still, summer vacation wasn't her favourite period of the year; it was too hot to be outside but there was no escaping Dudley's gang -who visited the house every single day- if they stayed inside.

This was why Harry and she spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays. One day they were sitting under a large tree, talking about how nice it was going to feel to be separated from Dudley; their cousin had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school but the twins on the other hand were going to the local public school.

"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," Dudley had told Harry while Rohini was washing the dirty dishes. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"

"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it—it might be sick." Then he ran out of the house before Dudley could work out what he'd said while Rohini laughed so hard she got stomach cramps. Harry might be a quiet boy, he was still quite witty and Rohini loved that about her brother.

Xxx

"I'm so tired of this place." Rohini suddenly said, playing with a pebble before throwing it as far as she could. They were hiding in the shadow of a tree. "Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and 'Ickle Dudleykins'. They are the worst family someone could have." She said before her attention was caught by two owls standing on the park's fence.

"Look!" She told Harry, pointing at the birds. "I didn't know owls could be seen during the day."

"They are beautiful." Harry smiled. He was right; one of the birds was an immaculate white and the other was a combination of grey and brown. The twins chuckled as the birds hooted and were disappointed when they flew away too soon. "We should get back home."

"Home isn't Private Drive, Harry." Rohini said, staring into her brother's green eyes. "Not for us."

Harry knew it all too well but said nothing. Rohini helped him on his feet and they walked back home where Dudley was playing with the Smelting stick that was part of his uniform. He tried to hit Harry with it but a single glance at Rohini was enough to calm him down.

"Clean up the dishes." Aunt Petunia ordered at her niece who rolled her eyes before doing as she was told when the mail slot clicked and letters fell from it at their doorstep.

"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper but Dudley hit him with his stick.

"Make Harry get it."

"Get the mail, Harry." Uncle Vernon ordered.

"Make Dudley get it." Harry said, deadpan and Rohini bite her lips to stop a giggle.

"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley." Uncle Vernon asked his son but Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Meanwhile, Rohini was fighting a stain on Aunt Petunia's favourite plate.

"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke and Rohini resisted the urge to throw the damn plate to his froggy face.

Harry went back to the kitchen and handed Uncle Vernon his mails but kept two envelops. He handed one to Rohini who was quite surprised for they never get any letter. However, she was hands deep into the water and shook her head.

"I will have a look later." She said and Harry began to open his own envelope.

"Marge's ill," Uncle Vernon informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…" Marge was his sister, and just as awful and ugly as him. Rohini hated her with a furious passion and couldn't help but feel happy at the news.

"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, the freaks got something!"

Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon as well as Rohini's letter.

"That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.

"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking Harry's letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to white as a bed sheet in a blink, his eyes wide opened in shock.

"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.

Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. Exchanging a confused look with her brother, Rohini whipped her hands on her brown skirt before joining him.

"Vernon! Oh my goodness—Vernon!" Aunt Petunia said, covering her mouth with a trembling hand.

"Give it back!" Harry shouted, furious.

"I want to read it!" Dudley ordered, waving his stick.

"Those are ours!" Rohini pointed out, trying to grab the letters only to be pushed away by her Uncle.

"Get out, all of you!," croaked Uncle Vernon as Petunia grabbed the two Potters by the ear and forced them to leave the kitchen before she closed the door on them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor. Rohini had hearing troubles after an accident at the local swimming pool and so she just waited behind the two boys, arms crossed and lips pinched.

"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address—how could they possibly know? You don't think they're watching the house?"

"Watching—spying—might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.

"But what should we do, Vernon?"

"We'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer-..."

They must have moved to the extremity of the kitchen for the rest of their discussion was inaudible. Dudley pouted and hit Harry with his stick before going upstairs, saying everything was "boring". As for Rohini, she sat in the corridor next to Harry, speculating about what it could have possibly been about.

"Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to us?"

"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it."

"You have what?!" Rohini screamed, jumping on her feet with a furious expression on her face.

"It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it."

"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon and the twins grimaced; they hated when their Uncle was shouting. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a horrible smile.

"Er—yes, Harry—about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… we think it might be nice if you moved into your sister's bedroom. You're too big for this nasty little cupboard."

"Why?" said Harry with a frown. "It didn't seem to bother you until now."

"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."

The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors, one where Dudley slept, and Rohini's room. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room, though a second trip was necessary to move the mattress upstairs. When they finally sat down on it, the twins were red and exhausted. Rohini's bedroom was tidier than what one could have expected from her.

There was her bed that used to belong to Dudley on the left side of her window with a kitten calendar above it (It was Aunt Petunia who had chosen it back in January). An old closet was in a corner of the room, filled with Aunt Petunia's old clothes. The desk was obviously second hand too, with a chair that was on the verge of collapsing. Broken toys that used to belong to Dudley were piled next to the door, with books that their cousin had probably never read. The walls were more personal though, for Rohini had covered them with drawings she had done over the years. Harry's favourite was the one representing them together chasing Dudley with a tree stick.

"I don't understand why Uncle Vernon suddenly let you in." Rohini said, staring at a family of spiders hanging from her ceiling. "I mean, they usually refuse to let you and I stay more than two seconds together in fear we'll blew up the house."

"It's because of the letter. The one that was addressed to me, it said ' _Mr. H. Potter, The Cupboard under the Stairs_ '."

"Woah, really? But how could they know that?" Rohini asked and Harry shrugged. "I wish we could have read them before he burn them…"

"I'd normally have given anything to be up here, but now I'd rather be back in my cupboard with that letter than up here without it." Harry said and Rohini gently pet his back.

"Well, I hope you don't snore too loudly." She said with a wink, bringing a weak smile to Harry's face. "Now, let's see if we can find something to play at." She added before standing up and going through Dudley's old toys. They ended up finding an intact Monopoly. It wasn't the most thrilling game ever, but it was good enough to make them forget about the letters for the rest of the day.

Dinner was once again extremely quiet; even more surprising, none of the Dursleys had complained when Rohini had toasted the bread for too long. Harry tried to bring up the letters subject again, but was silenced by Uncle Vernon who threatened to hit him with Dudley's stick.

Back to their room, Rohini suggested they'd play another game of Monopoly, but soon they grew bored and the game was pulled back into the pile. Instead, Harry picked up a book about a little boy that travelled to the moon, and the twins took turn to read it aloud. They barely had the time to finish the story that Aunt Petunia knocked at their door and barked at them to go to sleep.

"I wonder what the letters were saying…" Rohini said, her back turned to her brother. "It must have been serious if even Dudley wasn't allowed to read it."

Harry sighed and it's quite morose that the Potters fell asleep, Rohini snoring loudly but not loudly enough to cover Uncle Vernon's snores.

Xxx

When the mail arrived the next morning, Uncle Vernon ordered at Rohini to stay in the kitchen and made Dudley go and get it instead. They heard him shouting "There's another one! 'Mrs. R. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive—'"

With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, the twins right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind and Rohini was biting his arm. After a minute of confused fighting and the help of Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath and teared the letters in so many pieces that it would be obviously impossible to know what those said.

Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot. He gave them an evil smile when he realised the twins were standing behind him. But the letters didn't stop; since they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door and slipped through the sides.

The house was turning crazy now, the Potters and Dudley fighting to catch at least one letter before Uncle Vernon who was now guarding the door day and night. He made sure to burn the letters in the chimney right in front of his niece and nephew, saying "you will never read this." after each letter he threw away.

"Who could want to talk to us so much?" Rohini asked Harry in amazement, the flames reflecting on their glasses. Harry only shrugged and so they just stared in silence. The mystery was getting thicker.

XXX

On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking surprisingly gleeful after the terrible week that had just passed.

"Fine day Sunday. In my opinion, best day of the week. Why is that, Dudley?" He asked and Dudley shrugged. It was Harry who answered, handing his Uncle a plate of cookies.

"Because there's no post on Sunday?"

"Ah, right you are, Harry. No post on Sunday. Hah! No blasted letters today. No, sir." He seemed so content about that fact that he didn't see the millions of owls perched outside. Eyes wide opened, Rohini elbowed her brother to show him the strange spectacle. "No sir, not one blasted, miserable-"

Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. There was a menacing rumbling inside the chimney and suddenly a thousand letters came shooting out of the fireplace. Everybody began to scream, protecting their face from the projectiles. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one.

"Out! OUT!"

Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall. Rohini tried to do the same, but it was Petunia who pushed her into the hall before Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.

"That's it! We're going away! Far away! Where they can't find us!" Vernon screamed, his face turning purple from anger. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"

"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked his mother who was hugging him against her.

Ten minutes later they were in the car, speeding toward the highway with a grim expression on their faces.

They drove. And they drove. Uncle Vernon seemed so furious that even Dudley didn't complain about how hungry he was. As night fell upon them, Uncle Vernon finally stopped outside a gloomy-looking hotel in the middle of nowhere. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets while Rohini was lucky enough to get her own bedroom where she stared for two hours at a suspicious dark stain on the wall.

They were back on the road at dawn and Uncle Vernon had been driving for three hours when it started to rain, making it hard to see anything past 10 feet forward. Rohini rested her forehead against the window, drawing patters on the glass. Next to Harry, Dudley snivelled.

"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television."

Monday! The twins exchanged a glance: If it was Monday then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry and Rohini's eleventh birthday. If their birthday was never fun, this time promised to be worse if they spend it stuck in a car with the Dursleys.

As they discover where Uncle Vernon had taken them however, the twins wondered if it wouldn't have been better to stay on the road: They had stopped in front of the sea, terrible and impressive as a storm was rising. An old crooked man was waiting for them and Rohini took Harry's hand with a loud gulp.

"This gentleman will lead us to our new home!" Vernon said excitingly, pointing at a dark spot at the horizon and Aunt Petunia seemed ready to faint at the idea of sleeping in a house lost on a rock, in the middle of an enraged sea.

"Now, no letters will be able to find you!" Uncle Vernon said cheerfully, his piggy eyes glittering as he clasped his hands together. Rohini glanced at Harry and saw the same worry in his eyes; their Uncle had simply gone mad, there was no explanation.

As they navigated towards the rock island, Dudley looking ill the closer they get, Rohini realised it as the first time Harry and her were taking a boat. Uncle Vernon was right; no letters will be able to reach them now.

There will be no miracle, this time.


	3. Chapter 3

It hadn't taken long before the storm raged on. The wind was howling like a ghost and froze them to the bones as the house was filled with holes. It was far from the cosiness of 4, Private Drive. There was only one double bed on the first floor used by Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, and an old couch in the main room where Dudley was going to sleep. As for the Potter twins, the cold dirty floor was all they got for the night.

Somehow, Uncle Vernon had been stupid enough to forget about how and what they were going to eat and Dudley had spent the rest of the evening crying and shouting about how hungry he was. Rohini had pointed out that he was fat enough to hold up a whole week without eating and had her ear pinched by Aunt Petunia for that.

It was such a gloomy place to stay at between the coldness of the air, the rotting furniture, the dust, the storm outside and the smell of seaweeds. Rohini almost cried in relief when she realised there were at least paper rolls in the toilet. Harry had found a thin, ragged blanket that he put around his and Rohini's shoulders as they sat side by side in the dark. The ground was too uncomfortable for them to fall asleep and so they decided to wait for midnight to strike.

"Can you believe it? That's going to be the worse birthday ever." Rohini said in a low voice for Dudley had finally fallen asleep. "No cake, no candles…"

"We never had those to begin with." Harry pointed out and Rohini pouted. "Oh, I have an idea…" He said before tracing lines in the dust. Soon he had drawn a birthday cake which read 'Happy Birthday Rohini', with big candles on it. Rohini smiled before doing the same for Harry.

"Now we both have our own cake!" She said and the two giggled before taking a look at Dudley's watch as their birthday ticked nearer. "One minute!" Rohini said, sounding quite excited. Yes, it wasn't the greatest place to celebrate but it wasn't every day they'll turn eleven. Besides everything would be fine as long as she had her brother by her side. Finally, Dudley's watch beeped at midnight and Rohini said "Happy Birthday, Harry!" before the two of them blew their "candles" in unison.

"Yeah, Happy Birthday Rohini." Harry said before frowning. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear wha-"

BOOM!

Suddenly, the door thumped, making them jump on their feet. Their heartbeats had increased in speed as they stared at the entrance. The door thumped again and Dudley woke up with a scream before hiding behind the couch. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon appeared in the stairs, the man holding a rifle and looking terrified.

"What is that?!" Rohini squealed, grabbing her brother's arm. The door banged again and then cracked open, falling at the feet of a gigantic shadow. Both the Dursleys and the Potters began to scream in terror as the giant stepped inside. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. The giant squeezed his way into the hut and bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame.

"Oh my god…" Rohini whispered, both impressed and terrified. Then, the stranger turned and smiled, as if breaking in at midnight was a perfectly normal thing to do.

"Sorry 'bout that. Didn't mean to wake yeh up." He said while taking another step and Uncle Vernon waved his rifle at him, Aunt Petunia hiding behind him.

"I demand that you leave at once, Sir! You are breaking and entering!" He threatened and the giant grunted before grabbing the gun and bending it upwards.

"Dry up, Dursley, you great prune!" He said right before the gun fired, making them scream again. Then he saw Dudley in a corner and smiled at him, "Mind, I haven't seen you since you was a baby, Harry, but you're a bit more along than I would have expected. Particularly 'round the middle!" He chuckled while patting his own tummy. "Where is your sister?"

"We're here. He isn't Harry." Rohini said and the giant turned towards them before smiling softly.

"Ah, Of course yeh are. Happy birthday to yeh two. Got something for yeh here—I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."

From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box that he handed to the twins who exchanged a nervous glance before Rohini took it with a "Thanks" and opened it. The twins gasped when they saw what was inside: a large, sticky chocolate cake with ' _Happee Birdae Harry and Rohini'_ written on it in a green icing.

"Ahh. Baked it myself. Words and all. Heh." The giant said while rubbing his nose with a proud smile on his face.

"Thank you!" Harry said and he meant it, for it was the first birthday cake the two of them got.

"It looks good!" Rohini added, before picking up a bit of the icing with her finger to try it. "And it tastes good too!" She said, making the giant chuckle.

"Aye, good to hear that. It's not every day yeh turns eleven, heh?" He said with a wink before sitting on the couch that made a funny noise at the sudden weight. Rohini put the cake on a table before sitting next to the man, Harry standing right next to her.

"Excuse me sir, but who are you?" He asked and the stranger smiled before introducing himself.

"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He suddenly snoozed and pulled of a handkerchief out of his pocket before blowing his nose loudly. "It's a bit cold inside, what about some fire?" He said before grabbing his pink umbrella and pointing it at the empty fire.

"What are you going to d-"Rohini began before two sparks flew out of the umbrella and a fire started. "Wow!" She shouted, jumping on her feet. "How did you do that?" She was staring at the flames with her green eyes wide opened now, imitated by Harry.

"How? Well by magic, of course! Don't worry, you will learn to do the same at Hogwarts."

"Sorry, where?" Harry asked and the giant – Hagrid- seemed puzzled by their questions.

"Blimey, Harry, didn't yeh ever wonder where your mum and dad learned it all?" He asked, and the twins exchanged a confused look. "By Merlin's- You know what yeh are, right?"

"Twins?" Rohini suggested and the man shook his head before leaning closer and taking her hands in his.

"Yer a witch, Rohini. And yeh, yer a wizard, Harry." Hagrid finally said. The two Potters were dumbstruck; them? _Wizards_?

"It can't- that's impossible!" Harry said. "I ca-, _we_ can't be wizards! I'm Harry, just Harry." He said which seemed to amuse Hagrid, who chuckled before speaking.

"Well, Just Harry, did yeh ever make anything happen? Anything yeh couldn't explain when yeh were angry or scared?"

Rohini thought about that time they ended up on the school's roof. Harry must have too judging by the change in his expressions.

"I reckon it's abou' time yeh two read yer letter." Hagrid said before pulling out two envelopes out of his large pockets. They took it with a trembling hand and exchanged one last glance before tearing it open.

"Dear, Mr. Potter," Harry began to read out loud, obviously excited, "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" A large smile was brightening his face and Rohini seemed ready to dance from joy. However, she froze when she felt Uncle Vernon's heavy hand falling on her shoulder.

"They will not be going! We swore when we took them in we'd put an end to this rubbish!" He said, his face taking an ugly shade of purple. Realisation hit the twins and Rohini stepped away, pointing a menacing finger at her Uncle.

"You knew!" She said, "You knew and you never told us? You lied to us? Called us freaks and blamed us every time something unexpected happened?!"

"Of course we knew!" Aunt Petunia said, her chin raised and as she thrown a disgusted glance at her nephew and niece. "How could you not be? My perfect sister being who she was. Oh, my mother and father were so proud the day she got her letter." It was probably the first time she dared to speak of Lily Potter in front of the twins. "We have a witch in the family. Isn't it wonderful? I was the only one to see her for what she was. A freak!"

Rohini began to step towards her but was stopped by Harry who caught her by the arm. "And then she met that Potter, and then she had you, and I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as ... abnormal. And then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up! And we got landed with you."

"Blow up? BLOW UP?" Rohini was furious now and clenching her fists so hard her skin was turning white. The flames in the chimney seemed to get bigger the angrier she get.

"You told us our parents died in a car crash! That's how I got the scar!" Harry screamed, shoving his bang away to reveal the scar on his forehead. Hagrid stood up, looking scandalised.

"A car crash? A car crash kill James and Lily Potter? It's an outrage! It's a scandal!" Aunt Petunia hid once again behind Uncle Vernon as Hagrid stepped closer. "This boy-" he pointed at Harry, "had his name down ever since he was born! They are going to the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world, and they'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts' has ever seen: Albus Dumbledore. Come on, Harry, Rohini. Let's go."

"Now, you listen here, you two." Uncle Vernon snarled at the twins, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured—and as for all this about your parents the world's better off without them in my opinion, but I will not pay for some crackpot old fool to teach you magic tricks!"

Hagrid was suddenly pointing his pink umbrella at Uncle Vernon like a sword, looking furious. "I'm warning you, Dursley—I'm warning you—one more word…"

Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent. That's when the sounds of someone chewing caught everybody's attention and Rohini let go of an outraged gasp when she realised Dudley was now eating their birthday cake like a pig.

Hagrid grunted and pointed his umbrella at Dudley's rear and there was a flash of violet light and a sound like a firecracker as a grey tail grew out of it. Dudley began to scream and run around as his parents chased after him with high pitched screeches. Harry and Rohini were now laughing hard, Rohini almost wheezing as she tried to catch her breath. Hagrid winked at them before looking a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, um, I'd appreciate if yeh didn't tell anyone at Hogwarts about that. Strictly speaking, I'm not allowed to do magic." Then, he checked his pocket watch and gasped. "Ooh, we're a bit behind schedule. Best be off. Unless yeh'd rather stay, of course. Hmm?"

The twins exchanged a look, knowing perfectly well what the other was thinking. Grinning, they put on their shoes and grabbed their bags. They knew that as soon as they will step outside, their lives will be changed forever. Grabbing each other's hand, they followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The storm was still raging outside and Hagrid offered them his umbrella for they had no coat.

"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat.

"Flew," said Hagrid.

"Flew?" Rohini repeated with a confused frown.

"Yeah— here, this is my motorcycle. " He said, pointing at the engine. "Come on, climb in!" It was uncomfortable, but thankfully the two of them were small enough to fit together. "Are yeh' ready?"

Hagrid didn't waited for an answer and the motorcycle raised in the air with a loud motor noise, the twins giggling at the sudden freedom, the wind and the rain whipping their face to the point they had to take off their glasses.

"We're free!" Rohini shouted, a huge smile on her face. "Finally, we're free! Goodbye the Dursleys!"

"Woo-oo!" Harry screamed and for the first time in eleven years, the two of them actually enjoyed their birthday.

They flew and flew and even thought they had a thousand questions, the Potter twins stayed silent for it would have been impossible for Hagrid to hear them through the rain still pouring. They were quite slow and at some point the twins fell asleep.

When Hagrid woke them up, they had landed in a dark alley where stray cats were staring at them with curiosity. The sun was shining again, and it was obviously dawn. Yawning, the two Potters jumped out of the motorcycle and took a look at the crowded street.

"Where are we?" Rohini asked for she didn't recognised her surrounding, anxiousness growing in her chest at the sight of all those people.

"That, Rohini, is London." Hagrid said, clapping his large hands on the twins' shoulders. "We need to get yer supplies for school, don't we?"

Supplies! Harry gave his sister a bright smile; it sure was the best birthday ever for them. One could even call it …magical.

"Well, off we go then!" Hagrid said before stepping into the sun light, followed by the twins. "To the Leaky Cauldron!"


	4. Chapter 4

It soon became evident that Rohini hated London. It was too noisy, too crowded; people hurried past them as if time was running out and without an apology as they bumped into them. The only positive aspect of it was that Hagrid's size caught less stares than what she'd expected. Harry must have sensed that she had lost her enthusiasm for he slowed down to walk at the same level as her.

"Um—Hagrid?" He asked at some point with a frown. "We haven't got any money so how are we going to pay for our school supplies? The list is quite long, and there're two of us."

"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid with a glance behind him. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"

"You mean… we actually have money? That belongs to _us_?" Rohini asked with a shocked expression; except from 50 cents that Uncle Vernon had given them for their eighth birthday, the twins had never possessed a single coin.

"Aye. First stop after the Leaky Cauldron is Gringotts, the Wizards' bank."

"Wizards have banks?" Harry asked and Rohini rolled her eyes at the stupid question.

"Gringotts, yeah. Run by goblins."

"Goblins?" Rohini repeated a bit too high and Hagrid shushed her as a few pedestrians glanced at them. "Sorry _. Goblins_?"

"Yeah. Untrusty creatures, goblins. Yeh should never mess with 'em, yeh hear me?" He said, suddenly serious and the twins nodded. Rohini somehow imagined some kind of little naked dwarves hording their coins like dragons and grimaced at the thought.

"What do yeh need to buy again?"

"First-year students will require: Three sets of plain black work robes, One pair of protective gloves…" Harry began, and Rohini followed:

"…One black winter cloak with silver fastenings, The Standard Book of Spells Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk, A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander… Fantastic Beasts? You mean, like, unicorns and stuff?" She asked and Hagrid's face seemed to brightened.

"Aye! Unicorns, Hippogriffs, dragons-"

"Dragons?!" The twins said in unison, their eyes comically wide opened. "Cool…"

"We also need a wand! Oh, and we can have a pet!" Rohini realised. "I've always wanted to have a cat! But Hagrid… can we really find all of this in London?"

"If yeh know where to go." Hagrid said mysteriously. "Ah, here we are!" he said as he came to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron!"

It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. Hagrid steered them inside.

The first thing they noticed was the noise: people with many accents were laughing and arguing all around them in a cheerful atmosphere, and there was music too. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of an auburn beverage. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him and seemed intrigued by the two children hiding behind him. Rohini was holding Harry's hand again, feeling suddenly a bit too warm in her blue sweater. "The usual, Hagrid?" Asked the bartender as he came closer.

"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his big hands on the twins' shoulders, pushing them in front of him. "Just helping young Potters here to buy their school supplies."

The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent and Rohini felt the need to disappear.

"Bless my soul. It's Harry Potter and his sister!" Tom said, loud enough for all to hear him. An old man suddenly grabbed Harry's hand and began to shake it with a crooked smile.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."

"Thanks?" Harry answered, exchanging a confused and slightly worried glance with his sister. Rohini yelped as a witch grabbed her by the shoulder, half hugging her.

"Doris Crockford, Mrs. Potter. I can't believe I'm meeting you two at last!"

A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching. And he had a purple turban wrapped around his head.

"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid, beaming. "Harry, Rohini, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."

"P-P-Potters," stammered Professor Quirrell with a nervous smile, "C-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."

"He'll be yer Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts." Hagrid explained.

"Dark Arts?" Rohini repeated and Harry discreetly elbowed her before offering his hand that Quirell refused.

" F-fearfully fascinating subject. N-not that you need it, e-eh, Potters?"

"Aah, yes, well, must be going now. Lots to buy. Heh. We'll see yeh at Hogwarts, Professor."

"Goodbye." Rohini quickly said before following Hagrid through the bar, all too happy to leave all this sudden attention behind. They stopped in the middle of a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.

Hagrid grinned at them.

"See, yeh two are famous!"

"Hard to miss it, yeah…" Rohini mumbled, kicking a pebble and nervously glancing at the bar behind them.

"All those people back there, how is it they know who we are?" Harry asked, tilting his head in confusion. Hagrid seemed suddenly uncomfortable as he looked away.

"I'm not exactly sure I'm the right person to tell yeh that, Harry. Now…" Hagrid got his umbrella out and seemed to count the bricks on the wall. "Three up… two across…" he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry."

He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella and the magic happened; the brick he had touched quivered in the middle, a small hole appeared—it grew wider and wider—a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid. The twins' jaws had dropped as they stared in a marvelled state at the spectacle in front of them.

"Welcome," said Hagrid proudly, "to Diagon Alley."

They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall and as for Rohini, she was hesitating between being horrified at the large crowd of witches and wizards buzzling in the Alley, or staring at everything with wonder.

The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. _Cauldrons—All Sizes—Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver—Self-Stirring—Collapsible_ , said a sign hanging over them. Owls were screeching somewhere.

Having eight eyes wouldn't have been enough to look at everything. The shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping in extravagant robes. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Rohini heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand—fastest ever—" She slowed down a little to stare at the shining broom but Hagrid gently pushed her forwards.

There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments they had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment… Finally, Rohini forgot about her distaste of crowded places for she was too amazed to care.

"Well there's yer money. Gringotts, the Wizard Bank. T'aint no place safer, 'cept perhaps Hogwarts." Hagrid announced, nodding at the huge building in front of them. Inside the bank, they walk down the shiny aisle, passing tiny creatures that rushed like busy bees.

"What are those?" Rohini asked, unable to look away.

"Well, Goblins of course."

" _Of course_."

Goblins were about a head shorter than the twins and were the ugliest things Rohini had ever seen, except perhaps for the Dursleys. They had long pointy noses and fingers and little piggy shining eyes.

They were now in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses.

"Morning," said Hagrid to a goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. and Mrs Potter's safe."

The goblin slowly put his feather next to his book before smiling in quite a frightening way, leaning closer. "And do Mr. and Mrs Potter have their key?" Rohini was going to answer that no, they didn't but was stopped by Hagrid who was now going through all of his pockets.

"Oh. Wait a minute. Got it here somewhere. Hah. Here's the little devil." He said, smiling as he finally found the tiny shining key. "Oh, and there's something else as well. Professor Dumbledore gave me this. It's about you-know-what in vault you-know-which." He said mysteriously while slipping an envelope towards the goblin. Rohini resisted the urge to ask about it and took another look around her instead.

"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!" He called and the goblin named Griphook did a little bowed before waving at the trio to follow him.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.

"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

Griphook held the door open for them. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches, suddenly less fancy that the white marble of the hall. Rohini shivered. There were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in—Hagrid with some difficulty—and were off, Rohini letting go of a small gasp as they hurtled through a real underground maze. Suddenly, the cart came to an abrupt stop.

"Vault 687. Lamp, please." Griphook asked and Hagrid handed him the lamp. "Key please."

"Wait to see what's inside." Hagrid said with a wink, and the twins exchanged an excited glance before the goblin opened the vault.

"Wow!" They gasped in union. Inside were mounds of gold coins, almost reaching the ceiling of the Vault. There were also columns of silver and bronze. If someone had told Rohini they would be rich one day, she would have laugh to their face. It was like a dream turning true.

"All yours," smiled Hagrid. "Didn't think your mum and dad would leave you with nothing, now did ya? Now, yeh should take a bit of everything; I'll explain the different coins to yeh later."

Xxx

The gold was a nice weight in her pockets, Rohini thought at the cart reached a new vault that had no keyhole and seemed even gloomier than the rest of them.

"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He slid a finger down the door and the vault opened in loud mechanical noises to expose a small white stone package. Hagrid hurried in and scooped it up before hiding it in one of his numerous pockets. Rohini had to bite her cheeks to hold back from asking what the package was.

"Come on, back in this infernal cart!" Grumbled Hagrid. One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts, now richer than what they had ever been. "Might as well get yer uniforms," said Hagrid, nodding toward a cosy looking shop named _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions._

"Hogwarts, dears?" Asked a chubby little woman as soon as the two entered. They had been left by Hagrid who was waiting outside, for he was still feeling sick after the few rides in the cart. "Got the lot here—another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."

In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face and blond hair was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry and Rohini on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over Harry's head, and began to pin it to the right length.

"Hogwarts, too?" The boy asked. There was something about him that made Rohini disliked him instantly.

"Yes," said Harry and a pregnant pause followed, before the boy spoke again.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands." He had a bored, drawling voice that made Rohini cringe. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own."

"Probably because we don't know how to fly yet?" Rohini said while rising an eyebrow and even though he seemed to tense up, the boy ignored her and kept asking questions to Harry instead.

"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.

"No," said Harry.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No," Harry said again while glancing helplessly at his sister who only rolled her eyes before nodding at the blond boy. She secretly hoped they will not be attempting classes together.

"What about your house? I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been—imagine being in Gryffindor," he said the last word with a clear disdain, "I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"I was a Hufflepuff myself." Madam Malkin said and Harry was grateful for her intervention for he had no idea what the other boy was talking about. "Don't worry about the Sorting Hat's choice, my boy." She said to Harry with a smile. "He knows what is best for you. That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool and told Rohini he will be waiting for her outside. His sister stared at him as if he had betrayed her.

"Look at that man!" said the boy, nodding toward the front window once Harry was out. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Rohini and showing her the two ice creams he probably had bought for them. She felt her chest grew warmer at how kind the giant man was.

"That's Hagrid," Rohini said coldly. "He's my friend."

"Your…Friend?" The boy asked, rising an eyebrow, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"Excuse me?" She spat between her clenched teeth, ready to jump of the stool if the tailor hadn't stop her. The boy kept talking, a sufficient smirk on his face. Rohini would gladly punch him in his perfect teeth.

"I heard he's a sort of savage—lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk."

"Probably to forget about how stupid people like you are." Rohini snapped and the boy froze, finally losing his smile.

"What did you say?"

"I said-" Rohini began but was cut my Madam Malkin who said louder than necessary that she was done with the young Potter. Rohini hurried to pay and gave one last nasty glance to the rude boy before leaving the shop.

"Yer alright?" Hagrid asked and Rohini forced a smile on her face before accepting the chocolate ice cream he was handing her.

"Couldn't be better. What's next?" She asked and Hagrid glanced at the boy still inside the shop before announcing they'll stop to buy parchment and quills. Rohini cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed colour as you wrote. Then, they bought the numerous and quite heavy school books in a shop called _Flourish and Blotts_ where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Rohini felt like she was in Heavens and it took Hagrid five good minutes to pull her out of the shop before she spent all her money here.

"We still need a wand." Harry pointed out as his sister pouted.

"A wand? Well, you'll want Ollivanders. No place better. Run along there, but wait. I just got one more thing I got to do. Won't be long." Hagrid announced before leaving them alone once more. The shop was narrow and shabby and peeling gold letters over the door read _Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382b.c_.

A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place and once again Rohini felt like she was going to suffocate. She really hated small spaces. Harry felt s as though he had entered a very strict library as he looked at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling.

"Hello?" Rohini said. "Is someone here?"

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. The twins jumped before turning on their feet. A man appeared on a ladder at the back of the shop. He had wide, pale eyes shining like moons and Rohini felt an unpleasant shiver as he stared at them with a smile.

"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. The Potter twins." It wasn't a question and Rohini wondered for a second if he was able to read their mind. "You have your mother's eyes." The man pointed out, and Rohini raised an eyebrow; it was the first time someone had told them that. "It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." Ollivanders continued before joining them.

"Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it—it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

"How cans a wand choose someone?" Rohini couldn't help but ask, regretting it as soon as the pale eyes fell on her.

"Let's see which one will choose you." He said with a smile. "Lady first." He added, handing a wand at Rohini who grabbed it with a trembling hand. "Go on, give it a wave!"

She barely twisted her wrist that a lamp exploded on their left, making the twins scream. She hurried to hand it back to the old man who went through the other boxes, before holding another wand to her.

"Black Walnut wood with a Phoenix feather core 10" and supple flexibility." He announced and Rohini had barely touched the wand that a pleasant feeling ran from her tips to toes. Somehow, she understood now what the old man meant by "the wand chooses the wizard"; it was like meeting someone again after a long time.

"Black walnut seeks a master of good instincts and powerful insight." Ollivanders began to explain. "It's a very handsome wood, but not the easiest to master and loses power dramatically if its possessor practises any form of self-deception. But paired with a sincere, self-aware owner, however, it becomes one of the most loyal and impressive wands of all, with a particular flair in all kinds of charm work."

"Neat." Was all Rohini could say.

"Now, for Mr Potter! Try this one. Beech-wood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible." Mr Ollivanders explained and Harry gulped before trying it. All the shelves came crashing down and Harry hurriedly put the wand back on the counter.

"How about this: Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try—"

Harry tried— and just like Rohini before, a second lamp exploded.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere—I wonder, now—yes, why not—unusual combination—holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.

"Curious… curious…" Ollivanders muttered and the twins exchanged a confused look.

"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"

Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare. The air felt suddenly colder, somehow and Rohini wished they could leave the shop behind now.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather—just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother—why, its brother gave you that scar."

"Who owned that wand?" Rohini asked and the man shuddered.

"Oh, we do not speak his name." Then, to Harry, "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter. It's not always clear why, but I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things...terrible, yes, but great."

The atmosphere was filled with a quiet tension now, which only vanished when someone knocked at the glass behind them. The two Potters gasped in unison when they saw Hagrid smiling brightly while holding two cages; one with a beautiful snowy owl inside and another with a Siamese cat that seemed asleep.

"Happy Birthday!" Hagrid said and Rohini quickly whipped her happy tears away before paying for her wand.

"Oh Hagrid, thank you!" She said once outside before wrapping the giant in her tiny arms. "It's the best birthday present we ever had!" Hagrid blushed, obviously pleased by the compliment. "Is the cat for me?"

"Aye, and the owl for Harry. Yeh will think of a name on our way back to the Leaky Cauldron. Come now!"

And so they followed the giant back to the pub, their new pet under one arm and the rest of their groceries under the other. Still, they didn't forget about the troubling words spoken by Ollivenders. But for now, Rohini's biggest problem was to find a suiting name for the cat now meowling in its cage.


	5. Chapter 5

Thankfully for them, the Leaky Cauldron was less crowded when they came back. The old witches were still here, drinking a green beverage that made pink bubbles this time but Doris Crockford was gone. They sat in a shadowy corner, surrounded by all their packages and the two cages. Hagrid tried to pay for their lunch but Rohini was faster and paid for the three of them instead.

"You've already done so much for us, Hagrid!" She said and Hagrid blushed with a shy smile. It was the biggest breakfast the twins had ever eaten: sausages, beans, scrambled eggs… Rohini even went as far as licking her plate, making her brother giggle as some sauce was left on her nose. Hagrid smiled and said he was glad she seemed to have a healthy appetite.

As he came to take back the empty plates, Tom gave a piece of sausage to the Siamese cat that Rohini hadn't named yet. She had a few ideas, related to a book she had read once for school called The Hobbit. The names were Rivendell, Erebor or Thranduil. She asked Harry what he thought of it but to her surprise, Harry barely shrugged, drawing invisible lines on the wooden table. He had been awfully quiet since they left Ollivanders, and Rohini might have an idea why.

"Yeh all right, Harry? Yer very quiet." Hagrid pointed out with a frown, and Harry nodded before touching his scar.

"He killed our parents, didn't he? The one who gave me this." He said. It wasn't a question. Hagrid cleared his throat and glanced around before his attention went back to the twins.

"I'm not sure I'm the right person for that."

"Tell us the truth, Hagrid. Please." Rohini insisted and Hagrid sighed in defeat.

"Alright, Alright. It begins, I suppose, with—but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows—"

"Knows who?" Rohini asked in confusion and Hagrid shook his head.

"Well—I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?" Harry asked, for it seemed odd to be scared of a name.

"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared! Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was… Voldemort."

"Voldemort?" Rohini repeated, once again too loud and Hagrid shushed her. The girl covered her mouth with her two hands, mumbling an apology.

"Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this—this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Dark days. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of."

Rohini vaguely remembered him mentioning Dumbledore's name earlier, when they were still on the rock in the middle of the sea.

"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. Yer parents fought against him, but nobody lived once he decided to kill 'em."

Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn. Rohini and Harry were blemish now, for they both remembered the terrific flash of green light and their mother's scream that haunted their nights. It was evident now that it had been their mum's last moment, and the thought was frightening.

"An' then—an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing—he tried to kill yeh too. But he couldn't do it. An' that's why yer famous, especially yeh, Harry."

"Me? Why?" Harry asked. "Rohini was here too, wasn't she?"

"Ah, yes of course. But yeh see- the mark on yer forehead. That ain't no ordinary cut on your forehead, Harry. A mark like that only comes from being touched by a curse...and an evil curse at that. You-Know-Who probably tried to kill yeh first, but somehow something 'bout yeh stumped him that night. That's why you're famous, both of yeh; that's why everybody knows yer name. You're the twins who lived."

Silence followed the revelation. It was a lot to take, especially for eleven year olds who'd been told since they were three that their parents died in a car crash. Rohini didn't realise she was shaking until Harry touched her shoulder.

"What if- what if we're not good enough?" She asked, avoiding Hagrid's gaze. "What I can barely cast a spell? We never learnt any magic when everybody seems to know so much already." She was frantic now. "Oh my god, what if I make something explode, just like the lamp at Ollivanders?"

"I don't even know what Quidditch or Slytherin are." Harry added, siding with his sister. Hagrid sighed, before grabbing their hands and giving them a comforting smile.

"Listen up, yeh too: You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts—I did—still do, 'smatter of fact." He said with a wink and Rohini gave him a weak smile. "As for Quidditch, it's the most popular Wizard sport. Everyone follows Quidditch—played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls—sorta hard ter explain the rules. Ah, but you will learn about it all at school! Each House has its own team."

"And what are the Houses?" Rohini asked.

"School Houses. There's four of 'em, based on separate entities. Each has its own Common Room and dormitory, its own table in the Great Hall, and students mostly share lessons with classmates of their same house. Each house has one teacher who acts as its Head of House."

"So, Slytherin and Gryffindor are two of them?"

"Aye. The rivalry is strong between 'em. I was a Gryffindor myself. Still am at heart." He said, bumping his chest proudly. "Yer parents were Gryffindor too, yeh know. The two other Houses are Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Newt Scamander-"Hagrid said, pointing at the book on top of Rohini's pile, "was a Hufflepuff. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but—"

"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily.

"Don't be silly." Rohini said, pinching his arm. As if offended by her gesture, Harry's snowy owl's hooted at Rohini. "Wow, she's quite protective of you."

"Yeah, she is." Harry said with a smile before caressing the bird's feathers through the cage. "Right, Hedwig?"

"Oh, you found her name already?" Rohini said and Harry nodded.

"I, er, find it on the back of one of the book. It sounded nice." He explained, his cheeks turning pink and Rohini looked at the bird.

"Yeah, it does suit her. As for him..." She said, glancing at her cat, "I think I will name him Thranduil." The Siamese cat meowed in response and the twins grinned. "Oh, he likes it!"

"Well, looks like my mission to escort yeh two to London is done." Hagrid said, before checking his pocket watch. "Ah, I'm gettin' late. Need to meet Dumbledore about you-know-what."

"Wait, what? Hagrid, you can't let us alone!" Rohini shouted, anxious. "We can't just go back to the Dursleys for a month!"

"Ah-…" Hagrid said, "Well…"

"We could rent a room." Harry said, pointing at his pockets filled with coins. "We have enough money for that!"

"You're right!" Rohini said, before turning to Hagrid with hopeful eyes. "Can we?"

"Alright, alright." Hagrid said in defeat, before waving at Tom to come closer. "Do yeh have a free room by any chance? Those two need a place to stay at until the school year start."

"Of course, I'm always glad to help the young Potters." Tom said with a grin. "We'll discuss the price later. Let's put all your stuff upstairs first."

Helped by Hagrid and the bartender, the Potters quickly moved to a room with twin beds. It was pretty simple, with a mirror, an old closet and a funny smell was floating around with a few cobwebs hanging from the ceiling that reminded Harry of the cupboard under the stairs. Hagrid suggested that Harry let Hedwig out of her cage, promising she will return if she ever flew out by the window. Thranduil was already asleep on one of the bed and Rohini scrubbed him behind an ear.

"Well, that's where I leave yeh." Hagrid said. "Here are yer tickets for Hogwarts. Don't lose them! First o' September—King's Cross—it's all on yer ticket. Any problems, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me… See yeh soon, Harry, Rohini." He said and Rohini hugged him one last time before following the two men downstairs in order to pay the rent. Before leaving, Hagrid gave them the key to their Vault, in case they'd need more change.

"So." Rohini said, grinning wildly at Harry. "What do you want to do, now?"

Xxx

The whole month had been quite busy; every day they went back to Diagon Alley, eating ice creams and discovering new details each time. Harry realised his favourite shop was definitely the broomsticks one and he often visited it to admire the brooms while Rohini stayed at the bookshop, sitting in a corner and reading as many books as she could without being noticed.

"You will learn more in a month than you will at Hogwarts." Harry teased her and she childishly showed him her tongue before going back to the book she was reading. Rohini was still uncomfortable when in the middle of the crowd but an old lady owning an Apothecary shop had sold her an ocean blue potion to help her with her anxiety. She had also sympathised with one of the Leaky Cauldron's customer, an eccentric tall and skinny man with an impressive moustache that taught her how to play the chess. Truth to be told, Rohini sucked at the game but it helped her to calm down before bed.

They never tried to talk about what happened the day their parents died. It was a silent agreement between them. They had also agreed to keep their identity secret to avoid the sudden unwelcomed attention from random strangers. Once Rohini had lied when someone had asked her name, saying she was "Amanda Ross." It was somehow the first name that came to her mind, and Harry had called her that for the next few days.

It was the first time they actually enjoyed their summer vacation.

Xxx

"Do you think Dudley still has his pig tail?" Rohini asked the night before Hogwarts. None of them were able to fall asleep, too thrilled for that. Instead, they were sitting on Harry's bed, the window opened for Hedwig had gone out for a hunt; she always brought dead mice to Harry that Thranduil will happily eat under their disgusted eyes. Right now, the cat was lying on Harry's lap who was scratching his chin.

"I feel sorry for pigs. Must be terrible, to look like him." Harry said and Rohini snorted. A hoot caught their attention and the second after Hedwig was back to their room, seeming offended at the sign of the cat on her owner's laps. Thranduil yawned before jumping off the bed.

"I can't wait to be at Hogwarts." Rohini said as she closed the window. She rested her forehead against it; it was pleasantly cold. "I mean, I've read all those books but haven't tried to cast a spell yet. It's seems so… incredible! Can you imagine, being able to turn something into a cup, or being able to make things levitate? " She said and Harry grinned.

"Not too scared to be a Hufflepuff?" He teased and Rohini rolled her eyes. She somehow seemed less preoccupied about the Houses than Harry. "It would be nice, to be Gryffindors. Just like mum and dad." Harry said carefully, waiting for his twin's reaction. Rohini's shoulders tensed.

"I don't know." She said, biting her lips. "I mean- what if they were the coolest Gryffindors ever? What if we aren't as good as them? We know nothing about them in the end, except the kind of wands Ollivanders sold them, that they were Gryffindors and that mum had green eyes." She didn't mention the fact they had been killed though. "Sorry Harry, I'm being silly."

"It's ok. I think you're cool." He said and Rohini rolled her eyes. "I mean it!"

"Siblings aren't supposed to say that." She said and Harry grinned.

"Oh; true. I should actually pretend that you're the lamest sister ever."

"Exactly. Free the Aunt Petunia in you." Rohini said, making them both giggle. "I'm glad I have you, Harry." She said more seriously and Harry assured her he felt the same. "We'll still see each other even if we're not sorted in the same house, right?" She asked and Harry offered her his pinkie finger. They hadn't done a pinkie promise since they were eight: Rohini had made him swear he will never tell Aunt Petunia that he saw Rohini putting a dead frog inside Dudley's pants after she washed them.

"We should really go to sleep." Harry sighed and Rohini nodded, slipping under her blanket. "Goodnight, Rohini."

"Goodnight, Harry." She said before taking off her glasses and putting them on the dusty nightstand between the twin beds.

Thranduil jumped on her bed and kneaded her back for a few seconds before lying on her. Rohini grumbled something in her pillow, but didn't move the cat away. That's how they fell asleep; Harry lying on his left side and Rohini on her stomach with Thranduil on her back, her head buried in her pillow.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. Instead, he began to pack while Rohini snored loudly. Hedwig opened one eye, hooted, and closed it again. He felt like his stomach was knotted somehow. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so nervous. It felt like it was just yesterday that Hagrid had saved them from the Dursleys.

"Don't eat that, Thranduil…" Rohini mumbled in her sleep, and the cat meowed at his name's mention. Harry began to pace in the room before pulling on his jeans and the t shirt he had been wearing yesterday. He didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes for they might caught too much's attention. He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, and decided to wait downstairs. He was welcomed by Tom who was cleaning a table next to the door. Harry was too nervous to eat and decided to wait for Rohini to get down. Two hours later, she was still asleep and Harry decided it was time to wake her up.

"Get off Harry, it's your turn to cook…" Rohini grunted and Harry pulled her blanket away. "Hey!"

"Hurry up!" Harry said, "It's today!"

"Today wha-"Rohini began before realisation hit her. She jumped out of her bed with a bright smile and chased Harry from their room so she could get dressed. She joined him downstairs five minutes later, wearing her ragged jeans and an ugly pink cardigan. If Harry barely ate, it wasn't the case of his twin who even finished his own plate. However, they soon realised there will be a slight problem; how were they going to carry their heavy trunks and the two cages to King Cross Station?

"Maybe Tom has a cart or two we can borrow?" Rohini suggested. As they get back downstairs, a pleasant surprise was waiting for them.

"Hagrid!" They shouted in unison as the giant waved at them. "Why are you here?"

"I thought yeh might need some help to get to the station." He said, looking around. "Where are yer stuffs?"

"Actually…" Rohini began before explaining their problem. Hagrid followed them into the room, and picked up the two trunks as if they weighted nothing. The twins' jaws dropped opened as they were once again amazed by Hagrid.

"Come on', we can't be late!" He said. "Grab yer cages, and let's go!"

Thranduil hissed and spat as he was put inside the cage and Hedwig looked mildly bothered by the sudden movement. Saying goodbye to Tom, the trio finally left the Leaky Cauldron.

They reached King's Cross at half past ten. People were gawking at them, laden and strange as they were with all their packages, the snowy owl asleep in its cage and the angry cat trying to bite Rohini's fingers. Rohini looked a bit pale, either because of the crowd or the fact she ate too much, Harry couldn't tell. They charged their trunks and cages on two carts and as they walked towards the Platform, Hagrid apologised for he had to leave now.

"I'm needed at Hogwarts, sorry. Now, uh, your train leaves in 10 minutes. Yeh have your tickets, right? Stick to it, that's very important. Stick to yer ticket."

"Hagrid?" Rohini said, looking at the different platforms. "I can't see Platform 9 ¾." But as she glanced behind, she realised with that Hagrid had simply vanished and they were now alone.

"We should probably ask for help." Harry said, feeling the knot in his stomach tightened a bit. "Here!" He said, pointing at a man in uniform. They wheeled their carts towards him and asked where the train that drove to Hogwarts was. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed. Getting desperate, Rohini asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. Left alone, the twins exchanged a worried glance; according to the large clock over the arrivals board, the train will leave in 6 minutes now, and they still haven't found the platform.

At that moment a family passed just behind and the twins felt some hope when the mother mentioned "Muggles".

The twins swung their carts and went after them. A plump woman was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk and some had owls in cages. They suddenly stopped and so did they, just near enough to hear what they were saying.

"Now, what's the platform number again?" The youngest boy asked. He was around their size and was probably a first year too.

"Nine and three-quarters!" piped his sister, also red-headed, holding her mother's hand. "Mum, can't I go…"

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."

What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. The Potters watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it—and suddenly, the boy vanished into the wall.

"Woah!" Rohini said, jumping from the shock. "I didn't expect that!"

"Fred, you next," the plump woman said, pointing at twins.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear."

"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went. His twin followed right after and they both disappeared at the same spot as Percy.

"Excuse me! C-could you tell me how to-"Harry began but was cut by the chubby woman.

"How to get on the platform? Yes, not to worry, dear. It's Ron's first time to Hogwarts as well." She said, pointing at the youngest boy who gave them a shy smile. "Now, all you've got to do is walk straight at the wall between platforms 9 and 10. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous."

"We… need to run into the _wall_?" Rohini said before laughing nervously. "Ok…"

"Good luck." The daughter said, giving them a friendly smile.

"I can go first if you want?" Harry suggested but Rohini shook her head. "After you, then."

Rohini took a deep breath and oriented her trolley toward the barrier. It looked very solid and she hoped it will function properly. Finally, she began to run and closed her eyes, ready for the impact. She was going to smash right into that barrier and then be in trouble and-

-And the impact never came. Rohini risked to open an eye… and froze.

The station was magnificent and filled with wizards of all age. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform and a sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Rohini sighed in relief; they have done it. Harry emerged by her side and seemed just as amazed as she was. They smiled at each other.

"We've done it." Harry said and Rohini nodded for she felt too emotional to speak.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every colour wound here and there between their legs. Thranduil hissed in distress, obviously disliking the sudden agitation.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat, followed by Rohini who grimaced when she recognised the rude boy from Diagon Alley, a few steps away; he was standing next to a tall man and a beautiful woman, probably his parents.

A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.

"Give us a look, Lee, go on." A girl said and Rohini stopped, stepping on her tip toes to see what it was all about. The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg. Harry pressed her through the crowd until they found an empty comportment near the end of the train.

The comportment was quite welcoming, and looked like a fancy train that travelled through Europe, Rohini thought as she remembered Aunt Petunia watching a documentary about it.

Harry sat down next to the window and Rohini took place in front of him. The train began to move and the twins couldn't help the large grin on their face as they watched families disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window, followed by fields filled with cows. The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, "Everywhere else is full."

"No, not at all." The twins said in unison and the boy smiled before sitting next to Rohini.

"I'm Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley." He introduced himself, offering his hand that Harry shook. "I have twin brothers, too." He said and Rohini remembered the two mischievous boys from earlier.

"Fred and George, right?" She asked, "I'm Rohini by the way and he's Harry."

"Harry Potter." Harry said and Ron gasped.

"Wicked! And have you really got—you know…" He pointed at Harry's forehead. Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. "Wow…" said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments before turning to Rohini. "Do you also have one?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's shaped like a heart" Rohini said before shaking her head. "Nah, it's a lie. I'm the normal twin." She teased and Harry rolled his eyes. Ron seemed to relax and they sat in a quiet silence for a few minutes while looking by the window.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?" Rohini was almost drooling as she saw all the different kind of unknown candies filling the trolley. Harry, who hadn't eaten much for breakfast, leapt to his feet to take a look. He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many as he could.

"No, thanks, I'm all set." Ron said gloomily while holding up a plastic bag filled with mushed sandwiches.

"We'll take the lot!" Harry said, pulling out coins from his pockets. Ron gasped and Rohini smiled.

Xxx

Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands... The twins felt like they were in a Sugary Paradise. Rohini had offered Ron to share with them and the boy had politely hesitated before picking up a chocolate frog.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans?" Rohini asked, holding a red jelly bean between her index and thumb.

"They mean every flavour! There's chocolate and peppermint, and there's also spinach, liver and tripe. George swore he got a bogey-flavoured one once!" Ron said and Rohini threw the jelly bean away with a "ew!".

"They're not real frogs, are they?" Harry asked while unwrapping his Chocolate Frog.

"It's only a spell. Besides, it's the cards you want. Each pack's got a famous witch or wizard. I got about 500 myself." Ron said proudly. A chocolate frog suddenly jumped out of the wrapping and the twins stared as it jumped on the window, before leaping out and being taken away by the wing.

"Oh no, poor frog…" Rohini said and Ron patted her arm with sympathy.

"I've got Dumbledore!" Harry said and Rohini stood up to take a look above his shoulder; the card showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair and long beard.

"I got about 6 of him but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy." Ron said, and the twins only blinked once that the card was now empty.

"It's gone!" Rohini said, surprised, and Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," He said and Rohini blushed, embarrassed. Ron's rat, which he was keeping on is laps, suddenly squeaked. Thranduil opened an eye to stare at him, yawned, and fell asleep again. He was apparently not interested in still breathing creatures.

"This is Scabbers, by the way, pitiful, isn't he?" Ron said and the twins nodded as the rat got his head stuck in an empty box of Berty Bott's. "Fred gave me a spell as to turn him yellow. Want to see?"

"Yes!" The twins said excitingly.

Ron rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway—" He cleaned his throat and hadn't said a single word that the compartment door slid open. A girl with bushy brown hair and already wearing her new Hogwarts robes appeared at the doorway.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice and the three of them shook their head before her attention was caught by Ron's wand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down with an expected expression and Ron looked taken aback.

"Er—all right." He cleared his throat again, exchanged a look with Harry, and spoke, "Sunshine, daises, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow!" He said with a wave of his wand. There was a flash of yellow light, but the rat stayed the same dull grey colour.

"Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it?" The girl said and Rohini choked on the candy she was eating. The girl threw her a disgusted glance, before saying to Harry, «Of course I've only tried a few simple spells myself, and they've all worked for me. For example..." She pulled out her wand and pointed at Harry's glasses.

"Oculus Reparo." The glasses, which noseband was battered, were now repaired. The twins stared at each other, impressed. "That's better, isn't it? Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard—I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough—I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. Rohini on the other hand seemed quite pleased to meet another bookworm, even though she wasn't a fan of Hermione's manners.

"I've read them too! My favourite is _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them._ " Rohini said. "I'm Rohini, by the way."

"Ron Weasley."

"Harry Potter," said Harry.

"Are you really?" said Hermione, her eyes falling on Harry's forehead before glancing at Rohini with a new found interest. "I know all about you two, of course—I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"What, seriously?" Rohini said. "We're _that_ famous?"

"Of course." Hermione said and Rohini wondered if she always sounded so confident. Finally, Hermione stood up. "You better change into your robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon. "She began to leave, before looking at Ron, "You've got dirt, on your nose by the way, did you know? Just there." She pointed at her own freckled nose and Ron rubbed his own, embarrassed.

"Well, isn't she lovely…" He said when Hermione was out of sight and the Potters nodded. "She is right though; we better change now. Is it true, that you've already read every book?" He asked Rohini. She didn't answer, though her face felt suddenly quite hot and her cheeks were now a pretty shade of red. It was normal for them to be interested in magic after being raised by Muggles, wasn't it?

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Rohini's stomach lurched with nerves. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.

It was time.


	7. Chapter 7

Night had fallen by the time the train finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the doors and Rohini felt suddenly nauseous, her palms all sweaty and her breath coming out louder than usual. She felt her heartbeats getting faster when she lost Harry in the crowd, but thankfully was able to join him after pushing her way through a group of older students.

"You ok?" Harry asked, speaking loud enough for her to hear him and Rohini nodded, thought she felt anything but ok. The air was cold and she was glad their robes were thick enough to protect them from the wind. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Rohini felt better as they heard a familiar voice:

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!", Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. "Hello, yeh two." He said as the twins reached him. "Yeh alright, Rohini? Yeh seems a bit pale."

"'m fine." Rohini lied once more. Hagrid gently patted her shoulder before turning to the crowd.

"Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. Rohini grabbed Harry's hand, worried she would lose him again. She didn't care if it seemed childish. The path leaded them to a black lake, its surface shining under the moonlight. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side was a vast castle with many turrets and towers: Hogwarts. Lights came from his thousands windows and reflected on the lake. It was beautiful.

"Wicked…" Ron said in awe, and Rohini couldn't have found a better word to describe how she felt right now.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats floating by the shore. Rohini gulped, hoping the trip would be more pleasant than the one with the Dursleys. At least, there was no storm this time. She followed Harry and Ron and they were joined by Hermione.

"Hello again." Rohini said and Hermione smiled briefly before reporting her attention to the castle. "I've read everything there was to know about Hogwarts." She said and Ron groaned, getting an offended glance from Hermione. "It's important to have a minimum of knowledge." She pointed out and Rohini agreed.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then—FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Rohini touched the water with one finger, shivering at the sudden coldness. She wondered if students were allowed to swim in it during hot days. She wasn't truly a good swimmer, and neither was Harry.

She glanced at the other boats, and pulled a face when she realised the blond boy was on the boat right next to them. They stared at each other, Rohini refusing to lower her gaze first.

It was Hagrid who settled the silent battle by telling them to bend their heads as the boats entered a dark tunnel. They reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"I lied, I'm actually dying." Rohini said as they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, followed by a flight of stone steps and ending in front of a huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? Good." Hagrid knocked three times on the castle door. The door swung open at once. A tall, old witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross. Rohini was now squeezing his hand so hard he feared she would break his fingers.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She said and Hagrid left with one last wave of his hand at the twins. McGonagall spoke again:

"Welcome to Hogwarts. Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you can take your seats you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Now, while you are here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you house points. Any rule breaking and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup-"

"Trevor!" A chubby boy shouted at the sign of a toad next to McGonagall. He kneeled and grabbed the toad, before apologising as McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"The sorting ceremony will begin momentarily. Please, wait a moment." She said before taking her leave. Hermione seemed ready to speak when the blond boy spoke, loud enough for all to hear him.

"It's true then, what they're saying on the train. The Potters have come to Hogwarts."

Rohini hold back a curse as everybody began to whisper around them. So much to avoid attention…. "This is Crabbe, and Goyle and I'm Malfoy...Draco Malfoy." Draco introduced himself, and Ron snickered. Malfoy looked at him with disdain. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask yours. Red hair, and a hand me down robe? You must be a Weasley."

"And you must be quite a jerk, aren't you?" Rohini snapped, taking a step closer with her fists clenched. Draco was taller than her, she realised. Harry joined her, trying to pull her away and Draco turned to him. "You'll soon find that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. Don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He extended his hand, glancing at Rohini before looking back at Harry.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort is for myself, thanks." Harry said coldly and Rohini smirked as Draco's expression shifted into something darker. The two boys that were in the boat with him stepped closer, cracking their fingers.

Then something happened that made everybody jump and some yell: ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and floating around the new students with curiosity and interest.

"New students!" said a fat monk smiling at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely. Rohini was slowly realising what living in a magical world implied. Still, ghosts?!

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old House, you know."

"Pff! Everybody knows there's no House as noble as Gryffindor!" A ghost in armour said and soon all of them were arguing about their own House's prestige.

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned. "Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

Rohini and Harry exchanged a nervous glance. Rohini tried to ignore the fact that as soon as they will pass the doors, a hoard of students will have their eyes on them. McGonagall leaded everyone through two large doors and into the Great Hall.

"Wow." The twins said at the same time. They had never even imagined the breath-taking scene that followed. The Great Hall was flamboyant from the thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where hundreds of students were sitting. As they crossed the room, Harry's attention got caught by the glittering golden plates and goblets while Rohini was gasping at the ceiling that reflected the starry night.

Hermione whispered to her: "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." And Rohini absently nodded.

At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here and Rohini accidentally bumped into Ron when the boy came to a halt. "Sorry. The sk- ceiling is distracting." She said.

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.

"It must be as old as the school…" Rohini pointed out and Harry nodded. Suddenly the hat twitched and… _grinned_. "What the-"She began, eyes wide opened as the hat began to sing. After ghosts and an enchanted ceiling came a bewitched hat. They hadn't been here for an hour that Rohini was already charmed by Hogwarts.

"(…) You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave at heart, Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, If you've a ready mind, Where those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends, Those cunning folk use any means To achieve their ends. (…)"

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. McGonagall took a step forwards and eyed each table before speaking:

"Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbldedore would like to say a few words."

He was just like the picture from Harry's card; same long nose, same glasses… He stood up and offered everyone a welcoming smile.

"I have a few start of term notices I wish to announce. The first years please note that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch," He pointed at an old man in ragged clothes and a red eyed cat at his feet, "has asked me to remind you that the 3rd floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you."

"Death?" Ron whispered, exchanging a nervous glance with Rohini who gulped loudly. It sure wasn't the most welcoming speech that one could have expected at the beginning of the term.

"When I call your name, you will come forth, I shall place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses." McGonagall said before unrolling a parchment. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A little girl with pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. Rohini wondered if they will all look that silly with the old hat on their head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. The ghost from earlier was here too, smiling brightly.

"Bones, Susan!" McGonagall called, and this time it's a pale looking girl who left the group of first years to sit on the stool.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah, finally releasing the breath she had been holding.

Their little group was getting smaller and Rohini could see that Hermione looked as frightened as her. Harry seemed a bit sick too and Ron was on his tip toes, trying to spot his brothers among the Gryffindors.

"Hermione Granger!"

"Oh, no. Okay, relax." Hermione said and Rohini wished her good luck.

"Ah, right then...hmm...right. Okay...GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted and the Gryffindor table cheered louder than the other tables before. Hermione smiled and Ron groaned.

"Draco Malfoy."

Draco sauntered up proudly, bumping into Rohini and Ron as he left the group. McGonagall had barely dropped the hat on his head that it screamed "SLYTHERIN!"

"I hope I'll not be a Slytherin." Rohini said and Harry agreed. "Seriously, I would never get along with that ferret…"

Harry's attention was caught by one of the teacher that sat at the last table. He had long, black straight hair and looked terribly pale.

"Ah!" Harry grimaced, touching his scar.

"What's wrong?" Rohini asked with a frowned, before following Harry's gaze. "Wow, he sure looks like a necromancer, or something equally morbid…" Harry secretly hoped that she was wrong; necromancy sounds pretty scary.

The toad boy was called and sorted into Gryffindor. A girl named Parvati Patil was sorted into the Lion House too and her twin sister into Ravenclaw.

"We're not the only twins!" Harry said but Rohini only nodded for her throat too dry to speak; there were merely ten of them left now. She was squeezing Harry's hand again, and the boy tried not to grimace. Ron glanced at their joined hands and gave Harry an empathic smile. Then, at last-

"Harry Potter!"

The Great Hall which had been filled with conversations suddenly became awfully quiet. Rohini wished him good luck before letting go of his hand. As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Potter, did she say?"

" _The_ Harry Potter?"

"Where's his twin?"

The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. He waited.

It was taking longer than the others, Rohini realised with a gulp. What if something was wrong with them? Narrowing her eyes, she realised that Harry was whispering to the hat. She grimaced as the hat suggested Harry would do great in Slytherin and finally-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table where he was grabbed by the Weasley twins and Percy even got up and shook his hand vigorously. He glanced at Rohini from across the room and gave her a bright smile. However, Rohini thought she had forgotten how to breathe when McGonagall stared at her from across the room and said:

"Rohini Potter!"

"Relax." Ron told her before pushing her forwards. Her vision was getting blurred now and she could hear nothing else but her frantic heartbeats. Everybody was staring at her and whispering. Finally, she took place on the stool.

"Ah, the second Potter…" The hat said as he was put on her head, covering her eyes. Somehow, the sudden darkness helped her to relax. "Just as difficult as your brother. Great mind, yes. There's talent, oh yes, and a thirst for knowledge. A bit more eccentric, perhaps."

"Not Slytherin." Rohini pleaded and the hat chuckled.

"Oh, do not worry- You would have no place in Slytherin. Hmmm, yes… maybe? Ah…"

A pause. Rohini bite her lips. Then-

"RAVENCLAW!"

The Ravenclaw table cheered just as loudly as the Gryffindors with Harry and Rohini hurried to hand back the hat to McGonagall before heading to the table. Students welcomed her but she barely smiled, her head spinning a little. She finally sat next to Padma Patil with a shy smile. The Ravenclaw prefect offered his hand that she shook awkwardly before glancing at Harry. She felt a bit sad that they hadn't been sorted in the same house but at least, none of them was a Slytherin.

"My grandmother was called Rohini, too." Padma told her with a friendly smile. "Funny, both our twins are in Gryffindor!"

"Guess we're not as similar as what people tend to think." Rohini said before looking back at the students that weren't sorted yet. Ron was dancing from on feet to another, waiting for his turn.

Dean Thomas, a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. Lisa Turpin became a Ravenclaw and timidly asked Rohini if she could sit next to her. Then it was Ron's turn. Rohini hoped he would be a Ravenclaw too, but it's Gryffindor that the hat shouted. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.

Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

"What does that mean?" Rohini asked, puzzled, and Padma shrugged. Suddenly the empty golden plates were now piled with food and every first year gasped. Rohini couldn't believe it; she had never seen so many things on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy… She realised she was quite hungry and jumped on the food, filling her plate with a bit of everything except from the carrots because she hated it.

"Look at the Slytherin's ghost, he's so scary!" Lisa Turpin whispered and when Rohini glanced at the Slytherin table, she saw an ill looking man with his robes stained with what was probably blood. A shiver ran down her spin as the ghost raised his head to stare at them, and she looked back at her plate instead.

Both Padma and Lisa seemed to be quiet girls and Rohini found their company rather pleasant. There were still a few students that stared at her openly, but everyone else was too occupied with serving themselves some desserts that had replaced the chicken and peas. There were blocks of ice cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding…

"We're going to get fat if every dinner is so copious." Lisa pointed out and Rohini shrugged; it was the first time in her life that she could eat so many different foods in such quantity, and she wasn't going to complain about it. Besides, she probably needed to gain some weight.

While eating what seemed to be a toffee ice cream, Rohini glanced at the teachers table again. Hagrid was here too and waved at her when he saw her watching. She also recognised Quirrell who was in a deep conversation with the gloomy looking man from earlier. He suddenly turned his face in her direction and Rohini pretended she hadn't seen him; somehow, she felt uneasy about him.

At last, the desserts too disappeared and Dumbledore stood up again with a smile.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" he said and the other teachers' smiles melted into grimaces. Rohini herself groaned; she liked to sing, but it was in private and often off-key.

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

"Everyone pick their favourite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

The song had been, to put it simply, a disaster. Some students seemed quite into it, others were only mouthing the words. Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march and Rohini laughed a bit too loud, blushing as a few heads turned towards her.

"Ah, music," Dumbledore said. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

"First years, follow me!" Every prefects yelled, lines forming in front of them. They left the Great Hall into the marble staircase. Rohini thought she was dreaming at first, but realised after a second check that the portraits were indeed moving and waving at them.

They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet and at some point the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins took a different corridor. Rohini slowed down to be at the end of the line to be at the same level as Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Hey." She said and Harry gave her a tired smile. "I think I've eaten more in one night than in ten years at the Dursleys."

"Yeah,me too." Harry said but the Ravenclaw line took another turn and Rohini quickly waved at Harry before he disappeared after a turn. She felt suddenly lonely, and jumped when someone touched her elbow. It was Padma who gave her an understanding smile; it was probably the first time she was separated of her sister too. They took many stairs and Rohini was dumbstruck when she saw them moving.

"Keep an eye on the staircases...they like to change." The prefect said and Rohini wondered how they were supposed to find their way back if the castle kept moving.

"Our emblem is the eagle, which soars where others cannot climb; our house colours are blue and silver, and our common room is found at the top of Ravenclaw Tower, behind a door with an enchanted knocker." Their prefect kept going as they passed yet another arch. "Our common room has the best view of the school grounds: the lake, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch pitch and the Herbology gardens…" Finally, they reached the enchanted door. There was no doorknob or keyhole, but a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle that suddenly opened its eyes before saying in a sharp voice:

"Where do Vanished objects go?"

"Into non-being, which is to say, everything." Said the prefect and every first year glanced at each other, thinking the same thing: There was no way they would be able to enter the common room all by themselves. The door opened and they all gasped in awe.

The common room architecture was simply gorgeous; the walls were white and there were columns rising towards the ceiling which was made of blue, white and yellow mosaic forming the sky at night and its constellations. There was a comforting smell of wet ground after the rain floating around, even though there were no plants and Rohini could hear the soothing sound of rain.

"The smell isn't always the same." The prefect explained. "It changes depending of your global emotions. It's pretty calming, tonight. Probably because you're all excited on your first night." He explained and Rohini wondered if the Gryffindor common room was as relaxing. "That's for the Common Room." He said, before leading them out again towards another corridor.

"Our dormitories are in turrets off the main tower." He said before pointing at two doors on each side of a beautiful woman statue. "Girls, on the left. Boys, on the right."

Lisa was the first one inside. The dorm was as beautiful as the Common Room. There were four-poster beds covered in sky blue silk eiderdowns and the sound of rain was still there, even though Rohini had saw earlier by a window that the night was clear of any cloud. There were a set of stairs at each corner, probably leading to more beds. Their trunks had already been brought up and so they spent the next few minutes trying to find their own stuffs.

"Thranduil!" Rohini said when she spotted her cat, asleep on a bed right next to a window. The cat meowed and stretched before jumping of the bed and rubbing his tiny face against her ankles.

"He's beautiful!" Lisa said and Padma kneeled, letting the cat sniffing her hand before gently scratching him behind the ears. "My bed is downstairs, goodnight!" Lisa said before going back to the first bedroom.

"I'm right next to you." Padma said, pointing at the bed on Rohini's left. "I'm a bit too nervous to sleep." She admitted and Rohini felt the same. They finally put on their pyjama on silence and wished each other goodnight before slipping under the warm blue blanket. Looking at the Forbidden Forest by the window, Rohini wondered how Harry was doing.

Thranduil meowed and lay down on her back and before she knew it, Rohini was deep asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts and just as many corridors. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The first years had decided to go to the Great Hall for breakfast together, and Rohini was surprised that she remembered which corridors to take; she and a short black boy named Zachariah leaded the way.

The Ravenclaws were the first to reach the Great Hall, followed by the Slytherins, Hufflepuffs and finally the Gryffindors. Harry and Ron where the last one to arrive, bearing quite the gloomy look. She waved at them but they didn't see her. Pouting, she reported her attention to the golden plates. Breakfast was just as diverse and copious as dinner; eggs, bacons, cereals, toasts, marmalade, lemon cakes… Neither Lisa nor Padma talked to her, but it was probably because none of them were morning person. Rohini didn't mind.

"Hoot!"

As the plates magically emptied, the Great Hall was suddenly filled with screeches and hooting from hundreds of owls that flew above them in a beautiful aerial dance. They all held parchments that they dropped in front of each student.

"That's our schedule!" Lisa said and Rohini hurried to unroll hers, curious. She heard someone groan, saying they had to stay up until midnight on Wednesday. "Seriously?" She said, and indeed, there had an Astronomy class on Wednesday, midnight. "Wow, we're going to be exhausted…"

Their schedule for the year went like this:

 **Monday:** Transfiguration, Astronomy with the Hufflepuffs, morning break, Magic Theory with the Hufflepuff, History of Magic with the Gryffindors, Lunch time, Potions with the Hufflepuffs, Herbology and dinner.

 **Tuesday:** Charm with the Gryffindors, Transfiguration with the Slytherins, morning break, Transfiguration again, Potions with the Hufflepuffs, Lunch time, Defence against Dark Art with the Gryffindors for two hours and dinner.

 **Wednesday** : DADA with the Slytherins, Herbology, morning break, History of Magic with the Gryffindors, Charms with the Gryffindors, Lunch time, Magic Theory with the Hufflepuffs, Flying with the Hufflepuffs, Dinner and Astronomy with the Gryffindors.

 **Thursday:** Potions with the Gryffindors for two hours, morning break, Herbology, History of Magic with Gryffindors, Lunch time, Transfiguration, Charms with the Gryffindors and dinner.

And finally, Friday:

 **Friday:** Magic Theory with the Hufflepuffs, Astronomy with the Slytherins, morning break, Herbology, Charms with the Gryffindors, Lunch time, free time, DADA with the Gryffindors and dinner.

Rohini was satisfied with it and couldn't wait to have her first lessons; she had been waiting to use her wand for a month. She was also glad they'll share a few classes with the Gryffindors, but felt less enthusiastic about those shared with the Slytherins.

"They paired us a lot with the Hufflepuffs too." Padma said. "Hope we'll get along well. We should go now; I don't remember the prefect telling us where the classes are."

"They probably want us to find it by ourselves." Rohini said. "Being Ravenclaw and all. I'll see you both in class!" She said, waving at Padma and Lisa before joining Harry, Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table.

"Hi Harry." One of the Weasley twin said with a wink and the other sighed dramatically.

"Really Fred, how can't you recognise Rohini? You're a shame to the twins community."

"Disappointing, really." Rohini said while shaking her head, smiling. "How was your first night? You seemed a bit gloomy earlier."

"We bumped into Filch." Ron said, nodding at the skinny man and his cat. "He found us lost in the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor."

"He didn't believe we were lost and said we did it on purpose. Wanted to give us detention" Harry continued. "We were rescued by Professor Quirrell."

"Yerk." Rohini grimaced. "How about your schedule?"

"Tiring." Ron groaned and Hermione rolled her eyes. Rohini wondered if being a Ravenclaw wouldn't have suit her better. "Yours?"

"Interesting! We begin with Transfiguration. I should probably go, I don't know where the class is yet…" Rohini said and the Weasley twins stood up with a large grin on their face.

"Don't worry, we'll show you the way. Follow us!"

"Don't get her lost." Ron said and Fred brought a hand to his chest, looking offended.

"Our own brother doesn't trust our good intention."

"Scandalous." George said, shaking his head. "Now, we should hurry; you don't want to upset McGonagall on your first day."

"Or upset her at all."

"See you during break time!" Rohini yelled at Harry as the twins pushed her towards the huge gates.

Xxx

Fred and George seemed to know Hogwarts like the back of their hand. If at first they joked around by ordering students to make place for "The Potter Twin.", they soon realised Rohini was quite uncomfortable when being the centre of attention and leaded her instead through empty corridors and secret doors that she tried to memorise.

"I have the feeling that nobody knows Hogwarts as well as you two." Rohini said.

"I'd say Filch isn't far behind." Fred said with a wink. They had reached the first floor where Rohini was welcomed by Padma and Lisa.

"Well, our mission is over." The twin said in unison before bowing. "See ya later, Rohini!"

"Thanks for the help!" Rohini said, waving at them.

"Are you planning to befriend every twin at Hogwarts?" Padma asked, amused and Rohini huffed. "Good thing we aren't that numerous." Before Rohini could say anything, the door opened to reveal McGonagall.

"Well, are you going to wait outside for the rest of the hour? Come in." She said and everybody rushed inside, feeling she wasn't a teacher to cross. The room was spacious with high windows that opened on the lake, four rows of three desks, many bookshelves, two chalkboards, and a desk for the teacher. Lisa said she wanted to sit in the back, but Rohini had to sit close to hear properly. Padma said she didn't mind, and Lisa sat with them, though she seemed to sulk a bit.

McGonagall closed the door and stood up in front of her desk, when the door opened again and two boys mumbled an apology before sitting at the last free table, faces red. The old witch looked at them all while calling their names before nodding; they were all here now.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Rohini gulped.

"In a few months, I will expect my students to be able to do this." She said, before changing the pile of books on her desk into a beautiful antique jar. Most of them gasped, impressed. "But first, you will need to learn something fundamental: the Alphabet."

A few bold students grumbled and groaned, but a single glance from McGonagall was enough to silence them. By the end of the lesson, Rohini had a whole page filled with complicated symbols and a few ink stains on her parchment. Using a feather instead of a pen wasn't an easy thing. Still, Rohini had found the class interesting; it felt like being the main character of a fantasy book that needed to learn how to speak elvish or another unreal language.

Astronomy lessons were spent learning the names of stars and the movements of planets. It took place in the top-most level of the Astronomy Tower, the tallest tower in Hogwarts Castle. Their professor, Aurora Sinistra, was a beautiful black lady dressed in bronze coloured robes and charmed more than one student. Rohini found her class neither boring nor interesting and spent half the hour listening to Lisa and Padma talking about their astrological signs. Practice on Wednesday's evening will probably interest her more.

Xxx

During break time, Rohini tried to find Harry but realised that Hogwarts was too big to find someone except by cheer luck. To her displeasure, she crossed Malfoy's path but they both ignored each other. She got lost and missed her Magical Theory class. She followed the portrait of a lady in a pink dress through different corridors to reach the History of Magic classroom.

"Harry!" She said when her brother arrived. "I couldn't find you during break time."

"We should figure out a place to meet." Harry suggested before glancing around. "Why are you alone?"

"I lost my way and couldn't find my class in time, so I skipped my previous lesson." Rohini explained and Hermione seemed scandalised at the idea of missing a single class. "How are you doing so far?"

"We had Herbology and Transfiguration. It was ok, but the alphabet seems a bit complicated." Ron said.

"They arrived late and McGonagall wasn't pleased." Hermione revealed her, shaking her head. Rohini didn't miss the look Ron gave Harry behind her back. "What about you?"

"I had Transfiguration, then Astronomy, minus the class I just miss." Rohini said. "It's pretty interesting so far! But writing with a feather is hard." Both Harry and Hermione nodded for Hermione was also from a muggle family.

Finally the Ravenclaw arrived, and Padma promised her to let her copy her notes after dinner. Then, the door opened to reveal a ghost that urged them to come inside and sit down. Professor Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates. At the end of his class, everybody agreed that it was probably the most boring lesson they ever had.

"If he's a ghost, does it means that once you're a teacher, you're here forever?" Rohini asked, horrified at this possibility.

"No, I think he just loved to teach too much to stop." Hermione said, though she didn't sound so certain for once. "It's lunch time now, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I think I have potions right after." Rohini said, checking her schedule. "Yep."

"Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favours them." Ron said and both Gryffindors and Ravenclaws sighed.

"Wish McGonagall favoured us," said Harry.

"I don't even know who the Head of our House is." Rohini said, turning to Padma and Lisa who only shrugged. The Great Hall was already crowded when they arrived, and Rohini didn't miss the few glances and whispered following each Potter twin as they sat at their respective table. She wondered if it would stop, one day. She was suddenly quite irritated, and the next hour wasn't going to cheer her up.

Xxx

Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the organs and creatures floating in glass jars put on dusty shelves. There were steaming cauldrons already waiting on the desks and everybody took place with nervous glances all around. They were chattering when the door slammed open and Snape rushed in.

"There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to enjoy the subtle science and exact art that is potion making." He said and Rohini thought he reminded her a bit of a bat, with his long black sleeves. "However, for those select few who possess the predisposition, I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even put a stopper in death."

"Can we really do that?" Rohini asked to Padma. Snape glanced at her and Rohini wondered if she had been too loud again. It was hard to control her voice level sometimes because of her slight deafness.

"Ah, yes," he said with a disdainful smirk, "Rohini Potter. One of our two new celebrities." His black eyes were empty and cold but Rohini refused to look away. She wasn't sure why, but this teacher clearly had a grunge on Harry and her. "You will learn here that fame isn't everything."

Someone snorted on her left, but most students seemed uncomfortable with the tension in the air. Rohini was clenching her teeth so hard she feared she would break them. Snape stepped closer, crossing his arms as he asked her in a slow, dull voice:

"Tell me, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" He asked, obviously thinking she wouldn't know the answer.

"Probably in your cupboards, Sir." Rohini was unable to contain the sarcasm in her voice as she answered. Everybody held their breath, eyes wide opened as they glanced at Snape then Rohini. The Potions master had lose his smirk and seemed even paler if it was possible.

"Ten less points for Ravenclaw. Being famous will not excuse your behaviour, Miss Potter." He said before walking back to the chalkboard where he began to write furiously.

"He totally hates you." Lisa pointed out and Rohini barely nodded. Potions definitely wasn't her favourite class. Things didn't improve when Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils; Zachariah and Lisa, who had been paired together, blew up their cauldron and Snape took off twenty points to the Eagle House. Thankfully for Rohini, Padma and she were able to do a correct potion, which seemed to upset Snape as he silently passed behind them.

Then, they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. The class was quite interesting but it wasn't enough to cheer up Rohini who was still angry about Snape.

Even her appetite was gone and she barely touched her dinner. She hurried to find Harry before the Gryffindors left the Great Hall to warn him about Snape and tell him what happened to her.

"Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George."

"Still, that's pretty odd that he targeted her specifically, isn't it?" Hermione pointed out.

"Maybe he dreamed to be famous himself." Rohini suggested. "Instead, he ended up lurking in his bloody dungeon for all eternity, just like Professor Binns."

The thought made them laugh and Rohini felt slightly better when she joined Padma and Lisa to go back to the Ravenclaw Common Room, for she still needed to copy their notes from the class she had missed.

"You can see me in water, but I never get wet. What am I?" The eagle head asked them at the entrance.

"A reflection?" Rohini suggested and the door opened. "Wow, it's the first time I get it right on my first try."

"You're not good at riddles? I'm quite fond of them." Padma said and Rohini shrugged. "This one was simple."

The Common Room smelt like freshly cut grass and classical music had replaced the sound of falling rain. Rohini wasn't sure, but she thought the mosaics had shifted a bit, too. Padma's notes were clear, but the lesson itself was quite boring and Rohini was glad she had missed it.

They were the last ones to leave the Common Room, except from the ghost of a beautiful lady dressed in a fancy dress that stayed to read her book. Thranduil seemed to resent Rohini for leaving him alone the whole day, for he refused to lay with her for the night and instead stayed right next to the window, his eyes shining from the moon reflection. Exhausted, Rohini fell asleep pretty fast.

She had a weird dream that night; she was standing in the forbidden corridor, and a strange voice was telling her to open a huge door in front of her but it was locked, and Rohini knew no spell to open it.

When she woke up, she had no memory left of the dream.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day both twins began with Charm. Professor Flitwick was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. His hair and beard were whiter than Dumbledore's and once again, Rohini wondered if a teacher at Hogwarts were there forever.

At the start he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry and Rohini's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight, making everybody laugh. He told them that students will learn specific wand movements and proper pronunciation with him. However, they will not be allowed to practice until October as they needed theory first.

Rohini was a bit disappointed, but Flitwick class was so interesting that she ended up with two parchments full of notes, just like Hermione. At the end of the class, the teacher came and told her he was proud to have her in his house for he was the Head of Ravenclaw and assured her that if she had any problems, his office was always opened.

"Urg, I have Transfiguration with the Slytherins…" Rohini complained as they left the classroom. "Do you think I'll be allowed to turn Malfoy into a frog?"

"I wouldn't mind if you tried." Ron assured her. They parted in front of the statue of a crooked witch -she reminded Rohini of Tom the bartender- and she was going to compliment Padma on her beautiful hair when a new problem crossed their path: Peeves. Peeves was the most notorious and troublesome poltergeist in British history. His looks reflect his nature, a seamless blend of humour and malice.

"Isn't it Pot Potty!" He said, floating around them as the two girls hurried to join the rest of their class. The poltergeist snickered and pursued them with a stick, making them scream. The Slytherins and especially Malfoy seemed to enjoy the pitiful spectacle of Padma and Rohini chased by Peeves. He didn't give up until McGonagall stepped between him and the poor Ravenclaws, a severe frown on her face. Peeve grimaced, blew a raspberry, and left.

McGonagall began her class by giving them a test to see what they remembered from the previous lesson. Rohini was quite proud of herself for she had memorised most of the symbols and was even rewarded by one of McGonagall rare smile. However, she felt quite unhappy when it was revealed that she and Draco had the same, highest score; not only was he irritating, he was also quite smart too.

Then, they used their wand for the first time since they arrived at Hogwarts, for Professor McGonagall wanted them to change a match into a needle. By the end of the lesson only three students had been able to do that: Draco Malfoy, Padma Patil and Rohini. They each got 5 points of their houses.

The next lesson was, to Rohini's displeasure, Potions. Snape was just as unfair as the day before and both Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws lost 10 points because of minor mistakes. Once again, Padma and Rohini succeeded to brew Forgetfulness potion, their face red from the steam coming of the cauldron.

"Could you feel him breathing down our necks? It was creepy." Padma said with a shudder, and Rohini agreed. They spent lunch time criticising the Potion Master and complaining about how many points they were losing because of him.

"Maybe we should report him?" Lisa suggested. "Rohini should do it; teachers love her." Rohini wondered if she had imagined the jealous tone in her voice.

"I never asked to be famous." She said with a frown. "I'd rather be normal with both parents alive."

The rest of the meal was awfully quiet, Lisa and Rohini refusing to talk to each other and Padma looking quite uncomfortable for she was sitting between them. Mail delivery was what saved her for Lisa and she received the Daily Prophet and Rohini was surprised when Hedwig dropped a letter in her plate.

 _Dear Rohini,_

 _I know yeh get a break on Friday afternoon so would yeh like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?_

 _Hagrid_

Rohini smiled before scribbling "Yes, of course! See you on Friday" at the back of the letter than she handed to the snowy owl. Hedwig took in with her beak and flew away.

"She's beautiful." Padma said with a smile. "What class do we have next?"

"DADA with the Gryffindors." Rohini said, remembering what Professor Quirrell had told them the first time they had met. ' _F-fearfully fascinating subject. N-not that you need it, e-eh, Potters?_ ' Was it what everybody thought? That Harry and she were just naturally talented because they were lucky enough to survive a murderer when they were babies? She felt revolted by the idea; if she was going to be a great witch, it was because she will work hard for that, nothing else.

Xxx

' _Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom. No cursing allowed_.' Said a notice outside the room.

Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a joke. As soon as they entered the classroom, everybody covered their nose with their sleeves for it smelled strongly of garlic. He explained that the lessons will have a practical approach with theoretical assignments given as homework. Then, he began his lesson about vampires. Professor Quirrell claimed to have had an encounter with vampires in the Black Forest during his break from teaching to get some "hands-on" experience with dealing with the Dark Arts.

"Maybe Snape is a vampire." Rohini told her brother and friends, making them snort.

"Maybe you should wear a garlic necklace." Padma suggested in a serious tone, though Rohini didn't miss the discreet smile she gave her. They were heading outside to enjoy the last few rays of sunshine when Harry pulled on Rohini's sleeve to slow her down so they would be behind their group.

"Remember that day at Gringotts with Hagrid? Somebody broke into Gringotts and was after the vault 713."

"That's the one with the mysterious package!" Rohini said before frowning. "They must have been looking for what Hagrid picked up that day. I wonder what it was…"

"Speaking of Hagrid, did he send you an owl too?" Harry asked as they caught up with their friends. They spend the rest of their break lying on the grass and talking about the difference between Muggles and Wizards cooking.

Xxx

Lisa had apparently decided to ignore Rohini until Merlin knew how long and it was quite irritating, to have her talk to Padma as if Rohini wasn't here. Rohini finally decided to go study in their Common Room for the rest of the evening. Padma gave her an apologetic smile before Rohini left.

" _What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?_ " The eagle head asked her and Rohini internally curse; she wasn't in the mood for riddles right now. She thought about trying to sneak inside the Gryffindors' common room to talk with Harry, Ron and Hermione instead but thought that Filch would probably find her and give her detention if she did. Frustrated, she sat in front of the magical door and waited. The floor was cold but she didn't felt like going back to the dorm. Strange, how she had felt both intense joy and terribly frustrated in the space of two days.

Finally, she decided to go back to the dorm. Everybody was asleep now and she did her best to be as quiet as possible. Thranduil must have felt it for he didn't meow and lay on her back. Rain was falling now, and she fell asleep to the sound of it.

Xxx

 _She was in front of the door again. The same strange voice was whispering into her ears to open it, but it was still locked._

 _"_ _You know the spell!" The voice hissed but Rohini shook her head; neither Flitwick nor McGonagall had taught them to unlock doors yet._

"Rohini, what are you doing?" Padma said and Rohini opened her eyes with a grunt. To her surprise, she wasn't lying in her bed but rather standing in the middle of the bedroom downstairs. A few girls were staring at her oddly and Padma was still holding her by the arm with a frown.

"What am I doing here?" Rohini asked, glancing around nervously.

"I think you were sleepwalking." Padma said and Rohini felt puzzled; she never had a case of sleepwalking before. "You should go get dressed, it's breakfast time." Padma said before letting go of her and Rohini nodded.

She was distracted the whole morning, her notes less clear than usual. As for Lisa, she was still ignoring her but Rohini realised she didn't care as much as last night. They weren't truly friends to begin with.

As usual, she joined Harry and the other after lunch.

"You never sleepwalked before." Harry said with a frown. "I would have hear you if you did."

"Yeah, that's why it's so strange." Rohini sighed. "How about you, everything is going well? You seem bothered." She pointed out and the three Gryffindors grimaced.

"We just had our first Potions class with the Slytherins." Hermione explained.

"You were right; he totally hates us." Harry said bitterly, glancing at Snape sitting at the teachers table and talking to Quirrell.

"Malfoy is obviously his favourite." Ron added. "He shouldn't be teaching if he hates most of us so much."

They nodded in agreement and glanced at the teachers table again but Snape was gone.

Xxx

Finally it was time for Rohini's first flying lesson. She felt extremely nervous for almost most students had stories to tell about their first time on a broom and everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Flying wasn't something you could learn by heart out of a book; she had talk with Hermione after lunch about flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called _Quidditch Through the Ages_.

They were standing in the yard on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. The grass was still wet from the rainy night and there was a nice smell floating around that helped Rohini to relax a bit.

The Hufflepuffs were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Finally, Madam Hooch arrived. She had short, grey hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk but her face reminded Rohini of a peacock somehow.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Rohini glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles. She heard Padma gulp loudly on her left, probably just as worried as her.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP!" everyone shouted.

Lisa's broom jumped into his hand at once and made her gasp. Zachariah, Padma and Rohini had to try a few times before the broom came to their hands. However, most of them were shouting "Up!" desperately as their brooms simply rolled over on the ground. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips.

"I feel ridiculous." Padma told Rohini who nodded.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle—three—two—" and she whistled.

Rohini wasn't sure what she had done wrong; perhaps she had kicked the ground too strongly, or her broom was so old it was malfunctioning. She barely had the time to tighten her grip that her broom flew extremely high, making her scream.

"Rohini!" She heard Padma shout as the broom continued to go higher and higher. Soon, everybody looked like ants to her and she panicked when she couldn't hear what Madam Hooch was screeching. Finally the broom came to a stop; she was now at the she same level as the highest tower. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to calm down.

The wind was dancing with her robe and caressed her skin. When she opened her eyes, she realised that she actually liked the feeling of floating where nobody else could reach her. She looked around and was amazed by the beauty of the landscape around her. She could see the Forbidden Forrest surrounded by a thick mist, and the lake glittering under the sun. A few Owls were coming back to the Owlery too. She grinned.

"POTTER!" Someone shouted her name and she realised Madam Hooch was now flying at the same level as her, her face red from anger. "Five points from Ravenclaw!" Rohini gulped; in less than a week, she had been responsible for the lost or more than twenty points.

When they reached the ground again, a few of her comrades quietly congratulated her for flying so high without breaking her neck. The rest of the class was spent with a few minors accident of people slipping from their broom or going in the wrong direction. They weren't allowed to fly higher than three feet above the ground and anyone who would get higher will lose five points.

When Rohini told Harry about her first time on a broom after dinner, her brother seemed even more eager to have his first class the next day. Hermione reminded them that they had Astronomy at midnight which made them loose their smile. They decided to wait together in the library where Hermione buried her nose in a huge book about stars while Ron and Rohini played chess together. As for Harry, he had borrowed the Quidditch book Hermione had told him about that morning and seemed quite interested.

Xxx

"I'm exhausted." Ron groaned as they left the Astronomy tower, barely able to stand on their feet. "Seriously, I can't believe they gave us classes tomorrow morning."

"And it's Potions." The twins grunted in unison. Padma and her sister had stay behind for they had questions for their teacher but Rohini had decided to leave with the Gryffindors for she just wanted to be in her bed as soon as possible. They said goodnight and Rohini found herself alone. There were no ghosts and the portraits were asleep, giving the dark corridors an eerie atmosphere. Absently checking that she had her wand in her pocket, she headed back to the dorm. She fell asleep rapidly, her head filled with memories of the flying class.

She woke up in the middle of the night, panting and lying outside the dorm with no idea how she ended up here. It seemed that sleepwalking was becoming a habit. She went back to bed and this time, she stayed in until morning came.


	10. Chapter 10

Thursday's morning had been terrible. If Snape wasn't the friendliest teacher of Hogwarts, it seemed that being in presence of both Potters made him simply unbearable. Rohini had paired up with Harry and tried to ignore the degrading comments made by their teacher. Somehow, not answering to his provocation had made them loose more points than ever and everybody seemed to hold them responsible for that.

"I hate him! God, do I hate him!" Rohini shouted angrily, ignoring the portraits shushing her as they left the donjon. Padma gave her a sympathetic smile but said nothing, probably sensing that Rohini would calm down on her on. They parted with the Gryffindors that were going to have their first flying lessons, and headed towards the greenhouses for their Herbology class. Lisa wasn't with them, apparently decided to stay with Zachariah and his group of friends instead.

"Sorry about that." Rohini apologised to Padma, but the Patil twin assured her she didn't mind.

"You can't be held responsible for someone's jealousy." She said and Rohini thought she was quite mature for her age.

Xxx

"You _what_?!" Rohini said, baffled as she stare at Harry.

"He became the Gryffindors' seeker! It's wicked!" Ron said with admiration and Harry gave her the brightest smile she had ever seen on his face. Rohini's face was grave.

"But first years aren't supposed to be in a Quidditch team!" she squealed. "What if you fall? What if you break a bone, or worst?!"

"Rohini, calm down. I'll be fine." Harry said, looking embarrassed as a few students glanced at them.

"He'll be the youngest Quidditch player in a century!" Ron said with a frown, "you should be proud!"

"I _am_ proud." Rohini snapped, "But I'm his sister and it's my job to worry about him!"

"Quidditch is in your blood, he'll do great." Hermione cut them and they gave her a puzzled look. "Follow me."

Hermione leaded them to the trophy case on second floor and pointed at a plaque of Quidditch players. The Potter twins exchanged a dumbstruck look and Ron gasped.

"Harry, you never told me your father was a Seeker, too!" He said, pointing at the plaque reading ' _James Potter_ '.

"I-I didn't know." Harry said. Rohini stared at the engraved letters in silence. It was the first time she learnt something about their father. For a moment, she felt jealous of Harry for following their parents' footsteps. At least, he had something in common with them except for the eye colour.

They were heading back to the first floor when Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, crossed the way.

"Piss off, Malfoy." Rohini said between her teeth and the boy threw her a nasty glance before smirking at Harry.

"Enjoyed your last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy, stepping closer to Harry. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only—no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizards duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.

"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."

As soon as Malfoy and his bodyguards were out of sight, Rohini slapped the back of Harry's head, furious.

"A duel? A _duel_? Are you kidding me, Harry James Potter?"

"I couldn't say no and let Malfoy win!" Harry grimaced. Then, Rohini turned to Ron and slapped his arm, too.

"And you- you had to encourage him, heh? You idiots! Come Hermione, I don't want to catch their stupidity." She said, grabbing the witch by the wrist and leading her away, grumbling about duels and Quidditch. Hermione was smart enough not to interrupt her venting.

"Promise me you'll try to stop them." Rohini asked her before they parted ways. Hermione seemed to hesitate and Rohini reminded her Gryffindor would lose points if they were caught, which seems to convince Hermione.

Thursday's afternoon went better for she had both Transfiguration and Charms which where her favourite classes. She stayed at the end of McGonagall's lesson to ask her if it was careful to let Harry play a Quidditch match. McGonagall raised an eyebrow and asked if Rohini doubted her decision. "Perhaps you should join a club too, Miss Potter." McGonagall suggested and Rohini nodded, ready to leave before stopping.

"Professor McGonagall?" She asked, timidly looking away. "Did you teach my parents?"

"I did, yes." McGonagall said, and if Rohini didn't know better she'd thought there was some fondness in her voice. "Your mother was quite a talented witch and particularly good at Charms and Transfiguration. So was your father. An excellent seeker too."

"I see… thanks Professor." Rohini said before leaving. If Harry was going to follow their father's footsteps, then she will do the same, even if it didn't include riding a broom and catching a ball. Sitting next to Padma, she gave her full attention to Flitwick for the rest of the hour, taking more notes than necessary.

Rohini didn't join Harry after dinner. Instead, she stayed in the Ravenclaws' Common Room reading her magic spells book until her eyes were closing on their own and went to bed.

Xxx

"Rohini?"

Harry's voice waked her up and Rohini sat up with a gasp when she realised she was lying on the ground again. Kneeling next to her were Harry, Ron and Hermione. They were staring at here worriedly and Rohini realised she must have sleepwalked again.

"You're ok?" Harry asked and she nodded, forgetting for a second that she was supposed to be upset at him.

"Why are you here?" She asked, turning to Hermione, "I told you to stop them!"

"I tried!" Hermione said, crossing her arms and glancing angrily at the two boys. "They didn't listen!"

"Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there."

"We should go back to bed, then. He probably tricked you and warned Filch." Rohini said with a groan and just as they began to leave, they heard someone speak a few steps away.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

"Oh no, I was right." Rohini moaned as they recognised Filch's voice. Horror-struck, Harry waved at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward another door, away from Filch's voice.

"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer.

Then, when they were sure the old man couldn't hear them, they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going—they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. "Let's go."

It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when Peeves materialised in front of them with a delighted smile.

"Pot Pottey and his friends!"

"Shut up, Peeves—please—you'll get us thrown out." Ron said, waving his hands to chase him.

Peeves cackled. "Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves—this was a big mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door—and it was locked. Rohini felt like the setting was familiar, which was odd; she had never come to this part of the castle.

"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"

They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.

"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "Alohomora!"

The lock clicked and the door swung open—they piled through it, shut it quickly, and waited.

"He'll probably think this door's locked." Ron said, his ear stuck to the door.

"It _was_ locked." Rohini and Hermione pointed out.

"And for a good reason." Harry said, his voice shaking. Rohini turned around—and froze.

"Oh no…" She wept, eyes wide opened in terror. They weren't the only one hiding inside the room.

They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. A dog with three _heads_. Growling with drool dropping from its mouths that showed threatening shining fangs, the beast stood up.

"AAAAAAAH!" They shouted in unison before Harry opened the door and pushed them all out of the room.

They had to slam the door shut all together for the dog heads slammed against it, and they ran.

"What do they think they're doing? Keeping a thing like that locked up in a school." Ron said between two loud breaths.

"You don't use your eyes, do you? Didn't you see what it was standing on?" Hermione said and Ron gave her an annoyed look.

"I wasn't looking at its feet! I was a bit preoccupied with its heads. Or maybe you didn't notice, there were three!"

"It was standing on a trap door. Which means it wasn't there by accident. It's guarding something."

"Guarding something?" The twins repeated, glancing at each other. Guarding something…

"That's right. Now, if you two don't mind, I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed...or worse, expelled!" Hermione said dryly before leaving them behind.

"She needs to sort out her priorities!" Ron said and Rohini was too exhausted to defend Hermione. She hurried to go back to the Ravenclaw's dorm and sighed when she finally slipped under her blankets, Thranduil purring and rubbing his tiny head against her cheek.

"Glad to be alive." She told him with a tired smile before falling asleep. She dreamed that she was riding a broomstick and chased by a huge dog, that night.

Xxx

Hermione seemed to be ignoring Harry and Ron the next day, probably holding them responsible for their troubles. Malfoy had made a funny face when he saw them the next morning for he probably expected them to have been expelled. Vengeful, Rohini had enchanted his map during Astronomy class so that every time he would look at it, the map will roll back. It was petty, but oh so enjoyable.

In the middle of the afternoon, she waited for Harry at the main gate to go to Hagrid's place. Ron wanted to come and so the three of them headed towards the small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door and Rohini wondered if Hagrid was a hunter.

When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang—back."

Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.

"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang."

He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. Rohini squealed and kneeled in front of the dog who drooled on her robe as she scratched his enormous head.

There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid.

"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.

"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."

The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth and Rohini politely declined when she saw Ron's face after he tried one.

Hagrid asked them about their first week, and the three of them were delighted to hear him call Filch "that old git''

"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime."

"Animals reflect their masters." Rohini said and Hagrid raised an eyebrow before glancing at Fang that was now drooling on Harry's laps.

"Aye, I suppose yer right."

Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson and Rohini pointed out that he seemed to hate them more than any other students.

"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?" though he didn't quite meet their eyes when he said that.

"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot—great with animals."

The conversation took a pleasant turn as Charlie apparently worked with dragons. They had to leave not long after for they still had one hour of DADA left. As they headed towards the classroom, Rohini slowed up Harry by pulling on his sleeve.

"I was thinking… do you think that last night, what the dog heads were guarding… maybe it was the thing Hagrid picked up at Gringotts, that day?"

Before Harry could answer however, an older student -Oliver Wood- stopped them to tell Harry he will have his first Quidditch practice the next day. Rohini's worries about Harry crashing his broom or being injured came back and the mysterious package was forgotten.


	11. Chapter 11

Two months had passed now and Rohini felt like it had been years since the Sorting Hat ceremony. They were crawling under assignments, each one harder than the previous one. Rohini and Harry were meeting less and she missed him a lot. Lisa had officially stopped talking to them but neither Rohini nor Padma seemed bothered by that.

Hermione had suggested that Rohini ask Madam Pomfrey for something to help with her sleepwalking problem, which had been a great idea for Rohini had stopped waking up somewhere in the castle in the middle of the night.

She had managed to be one of the top students of her class in Transfiguration, on an equal step with Hermione and Draco. She was also able to properly fly now and, to her biggest surprise, was quite good at Potions which seemed to upset Snape who had no reasons to take off points from Ravenclaw.

They didn't talk about the three headed dogs again, though Rohini sometimes wondered about what it was guarding. She had tried to find books talking about that kind of creatures, in vain. If someone had written about it, it was probably in the forbidden section of the library.

Finally, Halloween came and the First Years were amazed to discover that the Great Hall had been decorated with flying candles, pumpkins and real bats. It was the first time Rohini ate pumpkin pancakes and butterscotch pie for breakfast.

As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by Hedwig.

"Hey, it's for your brother!" Padma pointed out and Rohini turned to look at the Gryffindor table, her cheeks stuffed with pie. Indeed, the mysterious package had been dropped right in front of Harry. Swallowing, Rohini hurried to join him, curious.

"Did you order something?" She asked and Harry shook his head. "Open it, quick!" She said, feeling excited and curious.

"It's a broomstick!" Harry screamed, surprised.

"Thats not just any broomstick, Harry. It's a Nimbus 2000!" Ron said, looking enviously at the beautiful broom. The Gryffindors were all leaning closer, whispering and gasping and trying to touch it.

"But who...?" Harry asked, before turning to look at the teachers table; Professor McGonagall was up at the head table, stroking Hedwig with a knowing smile. Harry smiled back and nodded politely.

"You're so lucky, Harry." Rohini sighed. "It's always to you that exciting things happened."

"You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed broomsticks."

Malfoy was standing behind them, looking both jealous and spiteful.

"Oh, poor Malfoy being jealous because he isn't good enough to make it into the Slytherin team." Rohini said with a sad sigh. "Tragic, really."

Before Draco could say anything, McGonagall was standing behind them.

"Is there a problem?" She asked.

"Potters had been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy, glancing at Harry. "First years aren't allowed one."

"Yes, yes, that's right. However, we can't let our seeker fly on one of Hogwarts' old broomstick." She said and Rohini could swear she seemed amused by Malfoy's look of horror. "Now, hurry to go to your classes or I will take it back, Potter." She said and they all urged towards the doors, Peeves throwing candies at them.

"I'll see you in charms." Rohini said before following Padma who had been waiting for her outside the Great Hall. She glanced at Harry's Nimbus 2000 and seemed quite impressed.

"He couldn't dream of any better broom to play Quidditch." Padma said. "Who gave it to him?"

"McGonagall." Rohini sighed, feeling slightly jealous. "I know she had a good reason for that, but it's a bit frustrating, you know? I feel like everybody look up to Harry and forget that I exist."

"I thought you didn't like attention?" Padma asked and Rohini groaned.

"I don't, which make it even more stupid."

"It's a universal law; one twin always lives in the other's shadow." Padma said, raising a finger as if she was giving her a lecture.

"Do we dare disturb the universe then?" Rohini asked and the two girls exchanged a knowing smile.

Xxx

Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were finally ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Padma paired up with her sister and Rohini thought about pairing with Harry but Ron and Hermione were still upset at each other and so she ended up with Hermione.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too—never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest." The story made them all giggle.

It was an extremely difficult exercise; Seamus and Neville both made their feather explode in a red flash, leaving burning marks on the desk. Harry and Ron swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop.

"Wingardium Leviosarrr!" Ron shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Hermione snapped, she and Rohini sitting right behind the boys. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, not Leviosar".

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Her feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads. Rohini did the same, and soon their feathers were floating next to each other.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger and Miss Potter have done it! Five points to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor!"

Rohini couldn't help but smile proudly, glad to do something better than Harry for once. She felt a bit guilty at that thought and helped her brother for the rest of the class, ruffling his messy hair as his feather flew a few inches above the desk. Ron refused to talk to them, brooding.

"It's Leviosa, not Leviosar. No wonder she hasn't got any friends!" he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "She's a nightmare, honestly."

Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face—and was startled to see that she was in tears.

"Well done, Ronald." Rohini spat before going after Hermione. She tried to cheer her up, saying Ron was an idiot and promised to change him into a frog once she would know how to do that, but Hermione didn't listen, locking herself in the girls' bathroom. Sighing, Rohini told her she would see her at dinner and go back to the Great Hall for lunch. She ignored Harry and Ron for the rest of the day and felt even more upset when Parvati told Padma that Hermione was still crying in the toilets at the end of the day.

Rohini was just helping herself to a shepherd pie when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared, puzzled.

"TROLL! IN THE DUNGEON! T-TROOLLL IN THE DUNGEON! Thought you ought to know." He said before turning pale and fainting.

Silence, a sudden thunder… and then everybody freaked out, screaming and running. Dumbledore stood up.

"SILLLLLEEENNNNCEEEEE!" He shouted and they all froze, looking at him. "Everyone will please, do not panic. Now, Prefects will lead their houses back to the dormitories. Teachers will follow me to the dungeons."

"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!" Percy said, guiding the Gryffindors. The Ravenclaw were walking in a line right next to them and Rohini pulled on Harry's sleeve with a horrified expression.

"What?"

"Hermione!" She said and the two boys realised Hermione was still missing. "We need to find her!" The three of them quickly hide behind a statue, waiting for the rest of the students to be gone.

"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."

Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them. Ron pulled Harry -who pulled Rohini- behind a large stone griffin as they peered around.

"Snape?" Rohini said with a confused frown as he crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.

"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

"He's heading for the third floor" said Rohini before grimacing as a nauseous smell floated around. "Yerk, which one of you just fart?"

And then they heard it—a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed a trembling finger: at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.

Twelve feet tall, its skin was a granite grey, its great lumpy body with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut, was a troll. It had short legs thick as tree trunks. Rohini shuddered when she realised it was holding a huge wooden club.

"He's going into the Girl's Bathroom!" Harry said and the three students stared, horrified as the Troll passed the door. "Hermione!" They shouted, following it inside.

Hermione was shrinking against the opposite wall, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing towards her, knocking the stalls as it went. Hermione screamed and Rohini shouted her name while throwing pieces of woods at the troll.

"Hermione, move!" Harry shouted.

"Hey, pea brain!" Ron aimed and hit the troll's head. Hermione escaped under a sink, but the troll saw her and went to smash her. It cracked the sink and the pipe exploded, splashing water everywhere. It had barely missed Hermione's head and Rohini shuddered.

"Ahhh! Help!" Hermione cried out.

Harry ran forward and grabbed the troll's club but was lifted up.

"Harry!" They screamed in unison.

"Whooa! Whoa, whoa!" Harry yelped, landing on the troll's head. He tried to cast a spell, but his wand went up to the troll's nose, making everybody cringe, disgusted. The troll, grunting, took Harry off its head and held him by one leg, upside down.

"Harry!" Rohini shouted, before taking off her own wand, trying to think of a spell.

"Do something!" Harry shouted, swiping to avoid being hit by the club. "Hurry up!"

" _Melofors_!" Rohini said, pointing her wand at the troll. its tiny head suddenly turned into a huge pumpkin and he dropped Harry who hit the ground with a painful groan. The troll, confused, almost crushed him under his feet and Rohini used the distraction to go help Hermione from under the sink.

"Do something!" She told Ron who grabbed his wand.

"Swish and flick!" Hermione said, flicking her wrist.

" _Wingardium Leviosa_!" Ron said perfectly and the club was lifted out of the troll's hand and hovered above its head before crashing back down, exploding the pumpkin at the same time. The troll wavered before crashing down in a cloud of dust.

"Is it...dead?" Hermione asked, stepping closer carefully.

"I don't think so. Just knocked out." Harry said before grabbing his wand which was covered in goo. "Ew, troll bogies."

"Melofors?" Ron asked Rohini but before she could tell him that she learned it in a book two days ago, loud footsteps made the three of them look up. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear.

Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white. They all exchanged a worried glance.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

"Please, Professor McGonagall—they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!" McGonagall said, outraged.

Hermione didn't look at her in the eyes as she lied: "I went looking for the troll because I—I thought I could deal with it on my own—you know, because I've read all about them. If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now."

"Be that as it may...it was an extremely foolish thing to do. I would have expected more rational behaviour on your part, Ms. Granger. 5 points will be taken from Gryffindor for your serious lack of judgment. As for you two gentlemen and Miss Potter, I just hope you realize how fortunate you are. Not many students could take on a full grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale. 5 points...will be awarded to each of you. For sheer dumb luck." They all stared at her in shock; Rohini had expected detention, not a reward.

They hurried out of the bathroom and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up and let go of a loud sigh.

"I'm sorry that you had to lie, Hermione." Rohini said and Hermione gave her a weak smile. "Well, I should hurry up and go back to the Ravenclaw dorm. See you tomorrow!" She said, heading back to the girls dorm were Padma was waiting, worried. Once Rohini had finished telling her the whole story, Padma was looking at her with a new found admiration.

"McGonagall was right; it was dangerous! I'm glad you're alive."

"So am I." Rohini sighed before yawning. "I hope Harry will be able to sleep; it's his first Quidditch match tomorrow."

"I'm sure he will do fine, even if he's playing against Slytherin." Padma assured her but Rohini still went to bed with a weight in her stomach. She dreamed that Harry was flying on his new Nimbus 2000, pursued by a Troll in Slytherin colours and woke up three times, breathing loudly and covered in sweat. Feeling like it was useless to go back to sleep when she woke up at dawn, she got dressed and went to the Great Hall. She was the first one here and waited for everybody to arrive by talking to the Gryffindor's ghost.


	12. Chapter 12

Rohini was dozing off when the rest of the students finally arrived. Padma sat next to her and gave her an annoyed look.

"I was worried when I didn't see you this morning." She said. "You could have had another sleepwalking session and be _anywhere_ in the castle."

"Sorry, I was just worried about Harry and couldn't sleep, so I came here." Rohini explained and Padma's features softened. They glanced at the Gryffindor's table where Harry seemed a bit green. "He isn't eating. Why isn't he eating? He's gonna faint if he has an empty stomach."

"Relax." Padma said, patting her arm. "He'll do just fine."

"Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team." Lisa said as she passed behind them to go sit at the end of the table. Rohini and Padma glanced at each other; who said every jerks were in Slytherin?

"Who's the Slytherin seeker?" Rohini asked, staring at the Snake house table. "I hope he's not a huge brute."

"No, it would be a disadvantage. You should be worried about the beaters though, I heard they were quite nasty."

"Thanks for reassuring me, Padma." Rohini groaned. "Please tell me there will be a net or something to catch them. If they fall."

"You know the answer, I saw you read a book about Quidditch last week." Padma said, raising an eyebrow and Rohini hid her face in her hands.

"I can _read_ things, doesn't mean I will _remember_ it all." She glanced at Harry again. "He's gonna _die_."

"I've heard that he was actually pretty good. If I were you, I would go cheer him up before the match." Padma suggested while helping herself to scrambled eggs. Rohini nodded and told her she'll meet her after breakfast and headed to the Gryffindor table.

"Oh, Rohini! You want to say your farewell to Harry before our match?" Fred Weasley asked.

"He might get hit in the face and broke a few bones; you'll look less alike this way." George teased and the two Weasleys giggled at their own peculiar sense of humour. Ron elbowed Fred with a groan.

"He has a scar and I have the coolest glasses. We're different enough, thank you." Rohini said, deadpan, before looking at Harry who was playing with his fork. "You're ok?"

"Yeah, never been better." Harry said with a lack of enthusiasm.

"I've learnt a spell that will slow down your fall if you slip off your broom." Rohini said and Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "I said _if_ , not when."

A shadow suddenly stood behind them, and they all grimaced when they heard Snape's voice.

"Good luck today, Potter. A little game of Quidditch should be easy work for you...even if it is against Slytherin." He said with a smirk. Rohini felt Harry tense by her side.

"You shouldn't worry about Harry, Professor." She said innocently and Snape looked at her. "I'd be more worried about the Slytherin team once Harry catches the snitch right under their nose."

The Weasley twins snorted and Ron hid a smile behind his sleeve. Snape stared at Rohini, who gulped as she wondered if she went too far. It was Wood who saved them by asking Fred, George and Harry to follow him.

"Hello, Professor Snape. Here to encourage my team?" Wood asked and Snape stared at him for an uncomfortable second before limping away.

"That explains the blood." Harry said and they all frowned.

"The blood?" Rohini asked but Harry shook his head.

"I'll tell you about it later."

"Ok… good luck, Harry." Rohini said, hugging Harry a bit too tightly, making him wince. Then, she turned to the Weasleys. "Make sure he'll stay in one piece." They bowed and promised to do their best and followed Wood and the rest of the team outside.

"You coming with us?" Ron asked but Rohini shook her head.

"Padma is waiting for me. I'll see you after the match!" Rohini said before joining her friend back at the Ravenclaw table. Padma told her they should leave now if they wanted to have a good seat and so they did. As they stepped outside, they were stopped by Dean Thomas.

"Heya Rohini! We made those last night, and I thought ya might want one." He said with a smile before giving the girls a banner made out of a Gryffindor's bedsheet that said "Potter for President" with a lion drew underneath that moved and roared like a real one.

"Wow, that's so cool!" Rohini said before smiling at Dean. "Thanks. Harry's lucky to have you guys."

"No problem." Dean chuckled, blushing. "Well, see ya later!"

"See ya!"

They sat up at the top row of the Ravenclaw benches, facing the Gryffindor ones. Rohini grinned when she saw Harry's friend unrolling their banners. People arrived in groups and soon there was a buzzling sound coming from all the different conversations and loud cheers. Rohini felt a bit dizzy at this excited crowd.

Finally, the teachers took place and Madam Hooch, who was refereeing, stood up in the middle of the field. Rohini was shaking now, in both excitement and fear. She barely heard Padma over her heartbeats when her friend suggested they'd unroll the banner now. Another minute and the team entered the field.

As if it had been some kind of signal, everyone stood up and began to scream, waving their hands or tiny flags, either red or green. Rohini couldn't see anything because the boy in front of her was extremely tall and found herself having to stand up on the bench. The teams were facing each other while Madam Hooch gave them a speech. Padma had binoculars that Rohini borrowed to look at Harry's face. He seemed nervous, but a smile blossomed on his face when he looked at the Gryffindor banners. He seemed so tiny, next to the older students!

Finally, Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her whistle. The fifteen brooms rose up and the game began. A black student, standing next to McGonagall, was commenting the match.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor—what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too—"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor."

The crowd giggled. Rohini thought she liked Lee's way of doing the commentary; it helped her to relax. Everything was going well so far; except from the flying part, it didn't seem as dangerous as what she had expected.

"Quaffle taken by the Slytherins!" Lee shouted and a wave of "Nooo!" rose in the air, followed by a loud cheer when the player was hit by a bludger, courtesy of one of the Weasley twins.

"Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle! Come on, now, Angelina—Keeper Bletchley dives—misses—GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"

"Yeeeeeeah!"

Rohini hopped on the bench, a large grin on her face. She had never been a sport person, but seeing a match in live instead of on TV truly was something else. Still, there was no sign of the Snitch. Harry was flying a bit above the rest of the players, looking around to spot the shiny little ball.

"How long do you think it will last?" Rohini asked Padma, loud enough to be heard.

"I don't know. Professional matches can last for days, but I think regular ones last around half an hour to two hours?"

"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying now, "Chaser Pucey ducks- wait a moment—was that the Snitch?"

A murmur ran through the crowd and Rohini tip toed around, narrowing her eyes to try to spot the golden ball. People gasped when Harry suddenly dived downward, the Slytherin Seeker going after him. Meanwhile, the rest of the players were still fighting for points but Rohini could only look at Harry, holding up her breath as he barely avoided a collision with the Slytherin captain.

"The Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes—Flint flying like an eagle up there—he's going to sc—no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle—GRYFFINDOR SCORES AGAIN! EXCELLENT TEAM, WAY BETTER THAN THE SL-"

"Jordan!" They could heard McGonagall growling, making everybody giggle again.

"Sorry, Professor. Wait, what's happening to Harry's broom?"

Everybody looked at Harry and Rohini froze, horrified. Her brother's broom was lurching and twitching like a horse trying to buck its rider off.

"It's not normal, is it?" Rohini asked with a hint of hysteria in her voice.

"No, it's not. Especially with a new broom." Padma said, biting her lips. "Oh no…"

The broom was completely out of control. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him until he suddenly slipped off, holding the broomstick with one hand. Rohini screamed her brother's name, feeling hopeless.

' _Arresto Momentum'_ she was repeating to herself. ' _If he falls, use_ _Arresto Momentum._ '

The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but it was no good—every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.

"HOLD ON TIGHT, HARRY!" Rohini screamed," COME ON, HOLD ON TIGHT!"

Everybody was chanting her words now and soon you could only hear "HOLD ON TIGHT, HOLD ON TIGHT!" Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom and the crowd applauded. Rohini had to grip Padma's shoulder for she was shaking too hard to stand on her own.

The Slytherin seeker was after the Snitch and Harry hurried to reach his level. They butted out each other for a few seconds and the Snitch dived. Rohini moaned in fear as they followed it, approaching the ground quickly. The Slytherin Seeker backed out but Harry pulled up his broom and… stood up on the stick.

"Harry, what the heck!" Rohini squealed. "He's gonna fall, this idiot!"

And indeed, Harry stepped too far forwards and toppled off his broom, making her yelled. Harry stood up and lurched, as if he was going to throw up. The crowd stared in silence, holding their breath…

And then, Harry lurched on last time and the Snitch popped out his mouth.

"He's got the Snitch! Harry Potter receives 150 points for catching the Snitch! GRYFFINDOR WIN!"

"YYYYEAAAAAHHHH!"

Everybody stood up and whistled and Rohini couldn't help but cry a little as she applauded loudly. Padma was doing little excited jumps and the two girls hugged each other with a bright smile.

"Go go Gryffindor! Go go Gryffindor! Go go Gryffindor! Go go Gryffindor!" Everybody was chanting, except from the Slytherins who were looking grim. Rohini had never seen McGonagall looking so happy than on this instant.

When Harry, who was showing the Snitch to the crowd, spotted her, Rohini waved and smiled at him proudly. Harry had done it and without breaking a single bone. If their parents were still alive, no doubt they would be extremely proud of him too.

Xxx

"You show-off idiotic brother!" Rohini shouted, ruffling Harry's already messy hair, one arm passed around his neck. "Standing on your broom, _really_?"

Ron, Hermione and Rohini had joined Harry after the match and Rohini was happy to see that Hagrid was here too. Hagrid invited them to come and enjoy a cup of tea the next day at his hut and left them to their celebration. Everybody wanted to personally congratulate Harry for his game and Rohini decided to escape, joining Padma at the Ravenclaw table. Here, a few students began to ask her questions about Harry such as did he dream of being a Quidditch player since he was a toddler and other questions she had no answers for. Tired, she told them to go ask Harry directly and was finally left to enjoy her dinner in peace.

The Gryffindors were louder than usual and as they all went to bed, they could hear their victory cries echoing through Hogwarts corridors. Even the ghosts were discussing the result of the match and Rohini was glad that Harry will be famous for something else than his scar now.

Xxx

The next day, she was going to join everyone at Hagrid's hut when she was stopped by the Weasley twins.

"We did a pretty good job at protecting Harry, don't you think Fred? "George asked his brother who nodded.

"Excellent, even."

"Yeah, thanks for that." Rohini said with a smile before going through her bag were she found a box of jelly beans. "Here, as a reward."

"We should save Harry more often." Fred said and the three of them chuckled. "Actually, we have something for you, too."

"Really?" Rohini asked, surprised. She couldn't think of anything she had done to be offered a gift. The twins handed her two mirrors.

"It's a Two-way mirror." Fred said, grinning. "Two-way mirrors work so you can talk to someone else while you're in a different dorm…"

"…Or in separate detentions." George finished and Rohini wondered how many time they must have used it since they were at Hogwarts.

"Are you sure you want to give it to me? It must be helpful for you two!"

"Don't worry, we found another way." Fred said with an enigmatic smile. "Besides, we won the match against Slytherin thanks to Harry yesterday. It's our own way to thank him too."

"Thanks." Rohini said with a bright smile. "I'll give it to Harry as soon as I see him. See you!"

"See you later." The twins said in unison, waving at her as she left the castle. Fang jumped on her as soon as Hagrid opened the door and she realised she was the last one to arrive. Ron and Hermione were sitting on Hagrid's bed and Harry seemed extremely tiny on Hagrid's huge armchair.

"Rohini!" Hagrid said with a smile before handing her a plate of cookies. "I just bake them. Try one!"

"Thanks, Hagrid." Rohini said, forcing a smile on her face as she saw Ron's grimace behind the giant; the cookies were probably as hard as rock. "Delicious." She lied as she took a bite and almost broke her teeth on it. As soon as Hagrid turned his back to her to make tea, she gave the cookie to Fang who swallowed it in one go.

"How do you feel?" She asked Harry as she took a chair and sat next to him. "Hope they let you sleep a bit last night."

"I said it and I'll say it again: yeh did great Harry." Hagrid said, beaming as he served them a cup of steamy tea.

"Still what happened to your broom?" Rohini asked him with a frown and it's Ron who answered.

"It was Snape," Ron said, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing Harry's broomstick."

"He _what_?" Rohini yelled and Hagrid rolled his eyes; they were probably having the same conversation before she arrived.

"I know a jinx when I see one. I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all!" Hermione said. Rohini couldn't believe it; she knew Snape hated them, but to try to kill Harry? She felt as if someone had pushed her into a bucket filled with ice. Until now, she'd always thought Hogwarts was rather safe. Now, she wasn't so sure anymore.

"Maybe we should talk to a teacher about it. McGonagall or even Dumbledore. We can't let him get away with that." She said.

"Rubbish," Hagrid grunted. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another and Rohini had the feeling they knew something she didn't.

"That night, when the Troll was in the castle," Harry told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog from the forbidden corridor but it bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

"How do you know about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked, looking paler.

"Fluffy?" The three of them repeated in unison, looking at Hagrid as if he had turned yellow.

"Yeah—he's mine—bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year." He explained and Rohini thought he wasn't really good at picking accurate names for his pets. "I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the— I shouldn't have say that." Hagrid realised as they all looked at him expectantly.

"We know Fluffy is guarding the thing you picked up that day at Gringotts." Rohini said, "It's quite obvious now. And whatever it is, Snape will do anything to steal it." She added with a grim expression. Hagrid chased the idea away as if it was an annoying fly.

"Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher; he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"Well, teachers aren't supposed to harass their students yet here we are." Rohini pointed out bitterly before realising she must be sounding quite aggressive. "I'm sorry Hagrid."

"No offense taken." Hagrid assured her. "Now, yeh listen to me, all of yeh." He added, pointing at them. Rohini hadn't seen him look so serious since that night with the Dursleys. "Yer meddlin' in things that ought not to be meddled in. It's dangerous. What that dog is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."

"Nicholas Flamel?" They repeated in unison and Hagrid seemed mortified. "Who's Nicholas Flamel?"

"I shouldn't have say that." The giant mumbled. "I shouldn't have say that."

Rohini decided it was probably time to leave and waved at the others to follow her outside. As they walked back to the castle, they thought about what they had just learnt. For the first time, neither Hermione nor she had an answer to give to the boys.

"Oh, Harry. Here, that's a gift from Fred and George." Rohini suddenly remembered, giving her brother one of the two mirrors and explained him how to use it.

"How comes they give you that when they don't even let me borrow their broom?" Ron said, envious. "That's not fair." He sulked and Hermione gently patted his back.

"Cool…" Harry said, looking at the mirror in every angle. Then they parted way, Hermione going to the library to see if she could find anything about Nicholas Flamel and Rohini going back to the Ravenclaw tower for she still had homework to do. As she and Padma practiced the last spells they had learn, Rohini thought about Fluffy and what it could possibly guarding.


	13. Chapter 13

Rohini was furious. Furious at Malfoy for being the biggest jerk she had ever met, except from Dudley. Furious at herself for being unable to keep her calm. She couldn't even remember what Malfoy had said that day in the corridor, to upset her so much. The only thing she remembered was trying to punch him in the face right when Filch arrived, grinning as he caught her in the act. And for the first time since she arrived at Hogwarts, Rohini got detention. Not only that, but she had been left into Snape's paws on the next Saturday's morning.

As she knocked at the classroom door, she couldn't help but remember what Hermione and Ron had said two weeks ago: Snape had been the one jinxing Harry's broomstick. What if he tried to get rid of her too? Gulping, she checked that she had her wand in her pocket before entering the cold room. Snape was standing behind his desk with a smirk. Rohini clenched her teeth; he was probably pleased by the whole situation.

"Miss Potter." He said, slowly walking towards her. "Your detention began 5 minutes ago. Two points from Ravenclaw. Maybe you will finally realise that you're not above the laws."

"I never considered myself above them." Rohini said between her teeth. Snape was going to add something when McGonagall knocked at the door, Draco by her side.

"Excuse me Severus, but Mister Malfoy will join Miss Potter for detention. I caught him saying quite the awful things about Mister Potter."

"What?!" The two students shouted, glancing at each other. "No!" They protested but quickly cooled down as the old witch gave them a severe look before leaving. Snape pinched his lips, obviously having not expected this. He rolled a newspaper that was lying on a desk and hit Draco with it before dragging him by the arm next to Rohini.

"You will clean up every single cauldron in this class." He then said, pointing at old brushes and cleaning products that seemed as old as the castle. "Without magic."

Throwing a nasty glance at Draco -it was his fault that she was here after all- Rohini began the disgusting task. Draco did nothing at first and Rohini bitterly wished they would have got detention with McGonagall; she was strict but fair and did not privileged one house above the others.

"Why isn't he cleaning too?" Rohini asked, pointing at Draco. "I thought we were two in detention."

"This is a servant job." Draco scoffed, losing his smile as Snape dropped a sponge in his hands.

"Clean up the chalkboard." Snape ordered and Draco looked offended but one look at Snape's face was enough to put him into action. Rohini still found it unfair that she had the dirtiest job, but at least Draco was getting punished too. After a while, Snape stood up from his desk where he had been reading. He needed to go back to his own office to check something and sworn that if any of them wasn't here when he came back, there will be consequences.

"My father will hear about it." Draco said and Rohini groaned.

" _My father this, My father that_ … is there anything you can do by yourself?" She asked and Draco threw her a nasty glance. "And don't think you scare me. I'm just as good as you and don't need my father to back me up."

"You don't even have a father; he was blown up when you were young." Draco spat and Rohini froze. Malfoy smirked, victorious. "Lose your tongue, Potter?"

"Shut up." Rohini said, turning her back to him and trying to focus on cleaning a particularly tenuous stain. "At least my dad was on the right side. Can't say the same about yours, can you?" Draco dropped his sponge and Rohini felt her confidence coming back. _Touché_.

"You know nothing about my father." Draco said, standing in front of her. Rohini was annoyed by the fact he had gotten taller and looked down at her. Couldn't he just stop growing?

"Rumours travel fast. Believe it or not, it's not hard to imagine that those about him are true." She said, crossing her arms above her flat chest. She will not let Malfoy impress her. He was pale now, more than usual and Rohini could tell he was thinking about a thousand ways to murder her. But he would do nothing. Because otherwise he would be expelled, rig- Oh.

Draco was now pointing his wand at her, and Rohini hoped she didn't look as scared as what she felt right now.

"That would be stupid of you." She pointed out. "You would be expelled."

"Oh, will I?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow. "I could pretend you attacked me. That it was only self-defence."

"You dirty liar." Rohini spat, furious. Draco only smirked. That's when Rohini saw him; floating right above them, Peeves was holding a pile of heavy books. He had a huge grin on his face and winked at Rohini before dropping them on Malfoy's head.

"Hehehehe!" Peeves laughed, holding his ribs as if it was the most hilarious thing ever. Malfoy was now lying on the ground, moaning in pain. Snape came back at that moment and chased Peeves away, furious.

"Out." He then said to Rohini who ran out of the classroom and only stopped when she bumped into Hagrid's huge stomach. He caught her right in time before she fell on her butt.

"Rohini! Where are yeh running like that?"

"Far away from Snape and Malfoy." She said, glancing behind her to make sure they weren't following her. "It's complicated."

"Yeh look a bit shaken." Hagrid said, frowning. "Did Malfoy do something to yeh?"

"No, yes- It's fine Hagrid, I promise." Rohini assured him. Hagrid didn't seem convinced and invited her to come have a cup of tea at his place. Rohini agreed and followed him to his hut where Fang seemed quite happy to see her again.

"He likes yeh, this lil' coward." Hagrid said with affection as Fang rested its huge head on Rohini's laps. "Can feel that yeh likes animals. How is yer cat?"

"Thranduil is doing well. He took the bad habit of sneaking out of the dorm if we are too careless. I found him fighting with Filch's cat last time."

"Good boy." Hagrid said and Rohini laughed. "Here, have a cup of tea."

"Thank you, Hagrid."

They sat in silence for a while, until Hagrid asked her what happened. When she finished telling him the whole story, he was looking outraged.

"He did what? That boy should be expelled! Threatening you, Ah! I should give him a pig tail too." He grumbled and Rohini patted his arm.

"It's ok, I can protect myself." Rohini lied. Truth was, she had been too taken aback to think of a single defensive spell back in the classroom. "I never thought I'd say that, but I'm glad Peeves was here."

She stayed at Hagrid's place until lunch and then they walked back to the castle together. She waved at Harry, Ron and Hermione, mouthing "see ya later" before sitting next to Padma.

"Glad to see you survived your detention hour." She said with a smile while handing Rohini a plate of sausages. "How did it go?"

"Terrible." Rohini sighed before telling what happened once again. Just like Hagrid, Padma was scandalised by Malfoy's behaviour and suggested she warned a teacher about it but Rohini shook her head. "He's not worth it."

"If you say so…" Padma said, unconvinced. Uncomfortable, Rohini decided to change subject and asked her about her plans for the holidays. Christmas was right around the corner, and everybody was paying less attention to classes and more to what kind of gifts they were waiting for.

"We do not celebrate Christmas." Padma told her. "Our family isn't Christian. But we do celebrate a religious holiday called Pancha Ganapati, which is a five-day holiday that honors Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed lord of culture and new beginnings."

"Really? And how do you celebrate it?" Rohini asked, intrigued. She was a bit ashamed by the fact she never thought about asking Padma's more questions about her religious background.

"The celebration begins on the 21th of December and includes outings, picnics, feasts and gift giving."

"Picnics, in December? Isn't it too cold for that?" Rohini asked.

"You just need to bring your scarf." Padma said with a smile. "Pancha Ganapati includes traditions that are similar to your Christmas traditions. Families put up a statue of Ganesha and decorate their homes with pine boughs or durva grass, tinsel, blinking lights and ornaments. Children dress the statue in different-colored clothes for each day of the celebration. Each color, including yellow, blue, red, green and orange, represents a different aspect of the holiday."

"Wow…" Rohini said. "So, I can still give you a gift then?" She asked and Padma blushed.

"Oh, you don't have to." She said. "I mean, that would be really nice of you, but don't feel like you have to!"

They spent the rest of lunch talking about the different divinities in which Padma and her family believed. Rohini admitted she had never heard of them before and didn't believe in any gods herself. Then, Rohini promised to join her in the common room to work on their assignments and waited for Harry, Ron and Hermione to finish their meal.

Xxx

The morning the holiday began, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and a few bold idiots, such as the Weasley twins, tried to ice skate on it. Rohini had somehow been convinced to follow them and fell more time than she could count. It was the first time she saw so much snow, and it's with a red nose and a huge grin on her face that she entered the Great Hall had for lunch. She bumped into Malfoy who made sure to speak loud enough for her to hear when he said:

"I do feel so sorry for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."

"Go spite your venom somewhere else, Malfoy." Rohini groaned.

It was true that Harry and she weren't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas, but it wasn't as much as a problem that what Malfoy seemed to think, on the contrary; this would probably be the best Christmas they'd ever had. Ron and his brothers were staying, too, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decoration. The hall looked spectacular; mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles. Rohini thought with a certain fondness that Hogwarts felt more like home than Privet Drive will ever do.

"Rohini!" She heard Padma shout. She was standing next to her sister who gave Rohini a polite smile. They were both standing next to their trunk.

"Oh, you're leaving already?" Rohini asked. "I hope you'll have a good time at home!"

"Thank you." Padma said before hugging her. She smelled really nice, Rohini thought. "We'll see each other after the holidays. Try not to get detention again." Padma joked and Rohini puffed. "Goodbye!"

"See ya!" Rohini said, waving at the twins until they were out of sight. Then, she joined Harry and Ron who were playing chess. Hermione joined them soon after, wheeling a cart behind her. She watched in silence as Rohini advised Harry who wasn't as good as her or Ron at the game. Still, Ron managed to win and the twins groaned in defeat.

"You will keep looking for Nicolas Flamel while I'm away, won't you?" said Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything."

"And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them."

"Very safe, as they're both dentists," Hermione pointed out and Rohini snorted. "You should try the restricted section." She whispered, glancing around to make sure no teachers were around. "Enjoy the holiday, and do your homework!" She said as she left, though they all knew the boys will probably copy most of Rohini's notes. Ron asked Rohini if she wanted to play chess with him, and she took Harry's place. While playing, they tried to come up with an idea on how to get into the restricted section, but none of these were particularly brilliant.

"Maybe we could ask your brother? Percy is a prefect, he would be able to get in." Rohini suggested. "Knight to E5."

"You're crazy? He would harass me to know why we need to find out who Nicolas Flamel is. Queen to E5." Ron said. His queen walked over to E-5 and clank Rohini's knight away.

"Well, I don't know then…" Rohini sighed. "Queen to D4."

Ron won the game five minutes later and they spent the rest of the day talking about anything and everything, from Charlie Weasley's work to how to order birthday gifts from Hogwarts.


	14. Chapter 14

It was Harry's voice that woke her up on Christmas. Her dorm room was empty except for her and so she had kept the two way mirror right under her pillow, just in case.

"Rohini!" Harry said, sounding excited. Thranduil meowed and stretched before jumping off her back. Rohini groaned and Harry had to call her three more times until she finally open one eye and pick up the mirror.

"What d'ya want? It's too early…" She mumbled, rubbing dry drool out of her face. Harry grinned.

"Merry Christmas, Rohini!" He said and Rohini realised that indeed, today was the 25th of December. Her grumpiness flew away as she sit up, smiling.

"Oh, Merry Christmas Harry! And Merry Christmas to Ron too." She said, and she heard Ron wishing her the same thing. "What are you wearing?" She asked, realising Harry was wearing a handmade sweater with the letter "H" on it. Her brother's smile only grew bigger.

"It's a gift from Ron's mum! Isn't it cool?"

"It is!" Rohini said, feeling a bit jealous of Harry for getting a gift from someone they only met once by accident. "Did you get mine?"

"Yeah, thanks for that. How did you know which Quidditch team was my favourite?" Harry asked, wrapping Rohini's scarf around his neck. It was one of the products sell by the Bulgarian Quidditch team. Rohini didn't know much about them except that they were pretty good and everybody seemed to love them.

"A shot in the dark, I guess." She said before hearing Ron gasping. He probably had taken the mirror from Harry's hand because his face replaced her brother's.

"Thanks for the chess game!" He said and Rohini was glad to see he was beaming.

"It's actually from both Harry and I, I just was the one to order it." Rohini explained. "I mean, you're pretty good at chess so you need a set that reflects your talent."

"Wicked! I'll have my first game with you." Ron said before asking her what kind of presents she got. Rohini realised that she didn't think about the possibility that she might have received some too and told the boys she will contact them again as soon as she reached the Ravenclaw Common Room.

The eagle head had a little Santa Clause hat topping him which seemed to annoy it greatly.

"Who is never hungry at Christmas?" It asked in a dull voice and Rohini she knew this one already.

"The turkey cuz it's always stuffed." She said and the door opened. The room smelt of cinnamon and freshly baked cookies, and Christmas songs were playing. There was a huge pine tree in the middle of the room with presents at its feet. Most of them had already been opened and everyone was spread across the room, showing each other what they got or reading their new books.

Rohini's jaw dropped wide opened when she saw that she actually received quite a few gifts herself. She used the mirror to contact Harry again.

"I got presents too!" She said before kneeling next to the pile with her name on it. "I can't believe it!"

"Show us!" The boys said and Rohini blocked the mirror between her laps so Ron and Harry could see what she was unwrapping. She heard Ron groan.

"Looks like mum made you a Weasley sweater too" said Ron. "It's the lumpy parcel."

"Oh wow, really?!" Rohini said, tearing the parcel apart and yelling happily as she pulled out the thick, hand knitter purple sweater with a golden "R" on it. There was also a large box of fudge.

"Oh my gosh Ron, your mum is the best mum in the world!" She said and she heard Harry laugh as Ron said nothing, probably blushing.

"Try another one!" Harry said. "Hagrid sent me one, look for the thick brown paper parcel!"

"Oh, found it!" Rohini said. Hagrid had written a messy note on it. "I send him a pair of gloves by the way. I said it was from both of us. Oh, look at that!" It was a set of roughly cut wooden chess figures. "Oh my god, I can't believe he took the time to do that!"

"Yeah, Hagrid is awesome." Harry said. "He did a flute for me that sound like an owl."

"Neat!" Rohini said, before picking up an envelope. "Urg, a letter from the Dursleys and a coin. Lovely." She said with an evident sarcasm. "Did you send them something? I sure didn't."

"Hermione sent us candies." Ron told her and Rohini searched for Hermione's parcel. It was neatly wrapped which didn't surprised her at all. Inside was The tales of Beedle the bard. She let go of an excited squeal when she found out that Harry had bought her a set of inks that changed colours. Finally, she spotted a package wrapped in orange and crimson paper. When she saw who sent her this, Rohini's smile got even bigger.

"It's from Padma!" She said. There was a short letter with it that she decided to read later, once she will be alone. The boys told her to open it and she did. "Wow!" She said. Inside were a set of three beautiful Sandalwood Carvings of an Occamy, a Hippogriff and a Thestral. Rohini were able to identify them for they were some of her favourite creatures from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. There was also a pearled bracelet and a few unknown cakes that tasted really good.

"It's coconuts!" She told the boys. "It's delicious!"

"I'm not fond of coconuts." Ron said. "Hey, did you get a package from an unknown person?"

"What do you mean?" Rohini asked, stuffing her cheeks with more cakes. There was a pregnant pause and she thought she heard Harry shushing Ron. Frowning, she repeated her question.

"Harry, tell me what's wrong." She insisted and Harry sighed.

"I received a package, with an anonymous note. It said…" Harry hesitated and Rohini could tell she wasn't going to like the truth. "It said, 'your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well. Very Merry Christmas to you.'"

"What was in the package, Harry?" Rohini asked, trying to sound casual even though she was boiling inside. "Tell me."

"It's a cloak. A… an invisible cloak." Harry admitted and Rohini took a deep breathe. "Look, maybe they send you something that belonged to dad too? Look at the rest of the presents, there might be one that was sent to you, maybe there's another cloak."

"I'll see you at the Great Hall." Rohini said before turning the mirror and pulling it on the ground so she couldn't see nor hear the boys. She rest like this for a while, kneeling and surrounded by her gifts.

It was the first time she had a proper Christmas, and it had to be ruined by her stupid jealousy. She tried to fight it, but still the voices in her head refused to shut up. Once again, Harry was the one getting closer to their father. First, with Quidditch and now with an invisible cloak that belonged to James Potter. When will people stop to forget that she was James and Lily's daughter, too?

'It's a universal law; one twin always lives in the other's shadow.' Padma's words came back to her and Rohini embraced her knees with her trembling arms and rested her chin against them. Was it how it would always be? Her, being swallowed by Harry's shadow, no matter what she did? It was unfair.

A scratching sound caught her attention and when she raised her head, she realised Hedwig was waiting on the other side of the closed window, holding a small parcel. Wiping her frustrated tears away, Rohini stoop up and let the owl in.

"Hi, gorgeous." She said with a weak smile, kneeling in front of Hedwig and gently caressing her head. "Poor you, having to be outside with such a weather."

The snowy owl hooted and let Rohini untie the parcel before hopping towards the chimney fire; it had been snowing again outside and the poor owl was all wet. Rohini's attention went back to the parcel: it was wrapped in a fancy paper and a little note was stick to it.

"Your parents were good people. They were respectively Head Girl and Head Boy. This used to belong to them. May it inspire you. Merry Christmas."

Rohini opened the package with trembling hands and covered her mouth in shock; there were two red badges saying "Head Girl" and "Head Boy". It was red and the colour had faded a bit. But it wasn't the only thing in the parcel. Right under it, there was… Rohini couldn't help but cry silently. It was a picture. A family picture. More precisely, the Potter family, eleven years ago.

"Oh my god." She whispered, picking up the old picture that was a bit torn in the left top corner. "Oh my god…"

Smiling and waving at her, each one holding a twin, was her parents. Rohini's whole body was shaking as she was half chuckling, half sobbing, kneeling on the marble floor in her lilac pyjamas. Thranduil rubbed his head against her lap, probably wondering what was happening. Sniffing, Rohini slowly traced her parents' features with a finger.

The colours of the picture were a bit faded too, but she still recognised the familiar shade of green of her mother's eyes. Lily Potter was a beautiful woman, with a warm smile and long, straight red hair. She had a pale skin that contrasted well with James Potter's light brown one. Rohini guessed that it was from him that Harry and she got their skin, poor sight and messy hair.

They were young, younger than what she had imagined when Hagrid had told them the truth. Because how could parents die so young? Yet, they were barely 25 on this picture. Hurrying to pick up all her gifts, Rohini rushed to the dorm where she put them on her bed and quickly get dressed, putting on Madam Weasley's sweater and her pair of old jeans before rushing to the Great Hall, the picture in her hand.

"Harry!" She shouted, sprinting towards Harry and barely noticing that Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet at the teachers table. "Harry, you need to see this!" She said between two loud breaths as she finally reached him and Ron. The boys raised an eyebrow and she gave the picture to Harry, who opened his mouth in a silent gasp.

"Is that…?" He said softly, and Rohini nodded. Ron took a look over his shoulders.

"Wow! Is that your parents? Wicked…" He said and Harry nodded, unable to speak. Just like Rohini, he let his fingers memorise their parents' features. "We really have mum's eyes." He said, finally looking at Rohini. She noticed that his eyes seemed a bit watery, but said nothing. Instead, she sat next to him and rested her head against his shoulder as they stared at the picture in silence. Ron cleared his throat and said he needed to talk to his brothers and Rohini appreciated that he gave them some privacy.

"Dad's hair looks even worse than ours." Harry finally spoke, pointing at James' wild black hair.

"Ours are probably a bit more tame thanks to mum's straight ones." Rohini said and they both chuckled. "It feels odd, doesn't it? Finally seeing them."

"Yeah, it does." Harry said. "Who send this to you?" He asked and Rohini shrugged.

"Probably the same person who send you the cloak. An invisible one, seriously? That's so cool…"

"I was thinking about using it tonight." Harry admitted and Rohini straightened up, tilting her head.

"What do you mean?"

"The restricted section of the library. We aren't allowed in. But if nobody can see us…"

"…Then we can look out for Nicolas Flamel!" Rohini finished with a smile. "That's awesome! You're smarter than what you looks like, Harry." She teased him, ruffling his hair and making him groan. They couldn't elaborate their midnight plan for the Weasley twins sat next to them with a huge grin.

"I see you've got your Weasley sweater too." George pointed out.

"Guess we'll have to dye our hair red now." Rohini said with a wink.

"Yours are better than ours, though," said Fred. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."

"Don't be silly." Rohini said, rolling her eyes. " I never pulled a cracker. Wanna do one?"

She pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off and turned into a cloud of blue smoke that took the form of a hatted deer before vanishing into a firework.

"Wow. Wizards really took it to the next level." Rohini said, impressed and the boys snorted. She decided to stay at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, which wasn't a problem considering how few students of each houses were left; Hufflepuffs were sitting with Slytherins, Slytherins with Ravenclaws, and Ravenclaws with Gryffindors.

"Ah, the magic power of Christmas Spirit." George said in a solemn voice. "Want to go play outside and enjoy the itchiness of our beautiful sweaters?"

Harry, Rohini and the Weasleys spent the rest of the day having a furious snowball fight on the grounds and ice skating on the frozen lake before Filch spotted them and chased after them until Hagrid stood in his way, buying them some time to go and hide in the castle. Cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, sneaking Rohini inside. The Fat Lady raised an eyebrow but still let her in. They played chess with Ron's new set, taking turns. Fred and George were poor players but made it fun to play against them. They played by pairs: The Weasley Twins, Ron and Percy who had been forced to join them by Fred, and the Potters.

They had skipped lunch to play outside and it's starving that they went back to the Great Hall for dinner. It was a gigantesque feast: a hundred fat, roast turkeys, mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce… Rohini was drooling just looking at it.

"This is our first real Christmas." She told the Weasleys as she took a large bite of a meat pie. "I would have never thought I'd actually love Christmas one day!"

"You should see Christmas at home." Ron said, helping himself with the sausages. "We don't eat as much, but it's still fun to be all together."

After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed. Before going back to the Ravenclaw dorm, Rohini pretended she had forgotten something in the Great Hall and dragged Harry with her, hiding in an empty corridor.

"So, what about tonight?" She asked. "Where should we meet?"

"I will come and pick you up at the Ravenclaw tower: the cloak is big enough to hide us both, and it would be too risky for you to walk in plain sight."

"Midnight, then? Everybody should be asleep." Rohini said and Harry nodded. He asked to take one last glance at their family photo and went back to the Gryffindor common room. Sighing, Rohini slowly went back to the girls' dorm, feeling extremely heavy and tired. She had saved a slice of dry meat that she gave to Thranduil.

"Merry Christmas, silly goose." She told the cat who yawned comically. Then, she decided to take a little nap until midnight. She barely closed her eyes and fell asleep that she woke up all sweaty and panting, feeling extremely cold as she heard her mother's scream echoing in her mind. She hadn't had this nightmare in a long time. Was it because of the picture?

Troubled, she sat in her bed until midnight stroke and she put Molly Weasley's sweater and her slippers on before leaving the dorm, waiting for Harry.

"Time to reveal your secrets, Mister Nicolas Flamel." She said, decided to find out who the mysterious


	15. Chapter 15

Rohini was worried that Harry had forgotten about her when she felt someone touching her shoulder. Yelping, she stepped away, pointing her wand, and rolled her eyes when Harry suddenly appeared with a grin on his face.

"Very mature, Harry." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I can't believe that this cloak truly make you invisible! It probably costed a lot of money to Dad…"

"Come on!" Harry said, glancing around to make sure they were alone. "We should hurry."

Rohini leaned closer to her brother and Harry pulled back the cloak on them. They passed in front of many portraits and crossed the path of a few lonely ghosts and Rohini couldn't help but feel excited as no one seemed to notice them.

"Wicked…" She whispered. "I wonder if dad used to sneak out by using it too."

"I feel like he would." Harry said and the twins smiled fondly, remembering the olive skinned man on the family picture. Yes, James Potter looked like a man who would use an Invisible Cloak to sneak out at night. He probably never got caught, since he and Lily had both been Head Boy and Head Girl.

Finally, they reached the library which was pitch-black and deadly quiet. Rohini felt Harry shudder by her side, and she got her wand out.

" _Lumos_." She whispered, but the light was too weak for them both to see, so Harry lit a lamp too. The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read the titles.

"We should split up." Rohini suggested. "It would be more productive if I look at this shelf and you at this one."

"Ok." Harry said and Rohini pulled off the cloak from her head and began to look at the book's titles, not sure of what she was looking for. Probably something about the greatest wizards of the modern world or something.

"Urg, this book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood." Harry told her and Rohini shuddered. "Found something?"

"No, not yet." Rohini said. She heard Harry pull a book from the shelf.

A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence, making her jump. She turned and realised the book Harry had picked was screaming.

"Close it, damnit!" Rohini panicked and Harry snapped it shut. He stumbled backward and knocked over his lamp, which went out at once. Panicking, they heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside. Rohini turned off the Lumos spell.

"Come here!" Harry told Rohini who slipped under the cloak right in time before Filch appeared, his pale, wild eyes looked straight through them.

"Who's there?!" The old man said, "I know you're in there. You can't hide."

The twins hold back their respiration and slowly swirl around Filch.

"Who is it? Show yourself!"

They ran from the room, breathing heavily, Harry pulling Rohini by the arm and holding the cloak with his other hand. They went back to the hall, where Mrs. Norris was sitting. The cat meowed as if she could see them and to their horror, began to follow them. The twins ran around a corner, just as Snape and Quirrell appeared. Snape was holding Quirrell by the collar and they seemed to be arguing. Harry pushed Rohini against the wall and they tried to control their breathing to go unnoticed.

"Severus...I-I thought..." Quirrell squealed, looking terrified.

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell." Snape cut him, looking suspiciously at the shaking man. Harry and Rohini exchanged a puzzled glance before looking back at the two professors.

"W-what do you m-mean?"

"You know perfectly well what I mean." Snape suddenly froze and turned his head in the direction of the twins. The Potters stopped breathing, taking a step backwards. Snape reached out to grab something, but only caught air. He then whipped his finger back in front of Quirrell's face. "We'll have another chat soon...when you've had time to decide where your loyalties lie."

Filch appeared, carrying the broken lamp and followed by Mrs Norris. Snape took a step away from Quirrell, as if they hadn't been having an intense argument a second before.

"Oh, Professors. I found this, in the Restricted Section. It's still hot. That means there's a student out of bed." Filch said, showing them the lamp. The three men darted off and the twins sighed.

"That was close." Rohini said and Harry nodded. They took the opposite direction, without paying much attention to where they were going. A door stood ajar to their left and Rohini felt somehow attracted to it. She stepped out of the cloak under Harry's horrified gaze and opened the door.

"We should wait here until we're sure they will not come back." Rohini said and Harry followed her inside. As soon as Rohini closed the door behind him, he took off the cloak and began to relax.

"That had been close, very close." He said and Rohini nodded. It looked like an unused classroom, but propped against the wall facing them was the only item in the empty, dusty room. It was at long mirror with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. Rohini come closer, standing on the left of the mirror.

"There is an inscription." She told Harry, waving at him to come closer. " _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_."

"I don't know this language." Harry said but Rohini felt like there was something more to it. Harry moved nearer to the mirror and stepped in front of it.

Rohini didn't realised Harry's odd reaction as he clapped his hands to his mouth and whirled around for she was too occupied trying to figure out the meaning of the strange inscription. It was probably the Ravenclaw in her who was talking, but she felt like it was a riddle of some kind.

"Come on Harry, give me a hand." She said and frowned when Harry didn't respond. "Harry?"

Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection.

"Mom?" he whispered. "Dad?" and Rohini's jaw dropped before she stood up next to her brother and frowned, disappointed when she only saw the two of them.

"It's just you and I." She said and Harry frowned.

"No, I swear I just saw them with us!" He said, before pulling Rohini in front of the mirror properly and taking a step away. "Can you see them now?"

Rohini said nothing, her eyes fixed on the mirror. It wasn't just her reflection anymore; she and Harry seemed older. Harry was holding the Quidditch cup and dressed in his seeker uniform, ruffling her hair with his free hand. Their hairs were longer now and slightly wavy. She was in her Ravenclaw uniform and had a "Head Girl" badge on her chest. She was holding the House Cup with Padma who was smiling brightly at her, an arm around her waist.

"Can you see them, mum and dad?" Harry asked, stepping closer and the illusion faded away to reveal the twins' reflection. Rohini shook her head.

"No, I saw you, me and Padma but we were older. You had just won the Quidditch cup and us, the House cup. I was also Head Girl, just like mum."

"What does it mean?" Harry said, confused. "Why do we see different things?"

"I think the inscription is the key." Rohini said, pointing at the cryptic words. "It probably explains the mirror's use."

They sat and stared at the mirror in silence, Rohini a bit on the left so Harry could continue to see their parents in the mirror reflection. She wasn't sure it was a good thing but she didn't have the heart to stop him from doing so. Instead, she spent the next two hours trying to understand the inscription. It was written on a mirror. What was a mirror's particularity? You could see yourself as you are.

She glanced at Harry's reflection. He had been wearing his Weasley sweater, just like her with the H on his chest. Rohini felt an odd sensation in her chest. Standing up, she stood right behind Harry.

"Oh." She said, before a large smile grew on her face. "ooOOOOh!"

Of course. A mirror reflection didn't exactly show you as you were, because the reflection was flipped horizontally.

"Harry, I think I might now how to read the inscription! Do you have your mirror with you?" She asked and Harry shook his head, confused. Rohini groaned and looked around. The room was empty but dusty. She touched the floor and traced a line.

"We can use the dust to write!" She said, excited.

"Can you explain to me what's going on?" Harry asked and Rohini told him about her idea. "Maybe the inscription is flipped as if seen in a mirror, you know? Ok, I'll need you to spell me every word backward." She told him and Harry nodded before looking at the inscription. Then, he began the task Rohini had given him.

It took them a while for it wasn't an easy thing to do. When he finished, he kneeled next to Rohini and frowned.

"Even now, it doesn't mean much. 'i _show no tyo urfac ebu tyo urhe arts desire'_?"

"I think the spaces need to be changed to. Like 'I show', you see?"

"Ok, then…" Harry said, reading the sentence a few times before trying a different word spelling, " _'I-show-not-your-face-but-your-hearts-desire._ '".

"Nice job, Harry." Rohini said, ruffling his hair proudly. "We're a good team together."

"Yeah, we are." Harry said, not looking as happy as Rohini. "So it's just that? What we desire?"

"I'm sorry, Harry." Rohini said, bringing him into a hug. "I know you wish mum and dad would be alive."

"Then why didn't you see them?" Harry said with a frown. "Don't you wish for them to be alive, too?"

"Of course I do!" Rohini said, confused by her brother's reaction. "I just have other desires, because I know that they are dead and we can't change it, no matter why."

"I'm well aware that they are dead, thank you." Harry snapped and Rohini sighed. She was too tired to have a fight with her brother over something so silly.

"Let's go back to bed, Harry. We're both tired and it's getting the best of us. Care to escort me back to my dorm?" She asked softly, knowing Harry would never let her go in full sight back to the Ravenclaw tower, upset or not. They stood up and Harry threw the Invisible Cloak on them and they walked back in silence to the tower. Rohini thanked him and wished him goodnight before disappearing into the girls' dorm.

She slipped under her blanket and stared at the snow still falling outside. Harry's words were dancing in her mind, making her feel terrible. Was she selfish for seeing herself being successful and being recognised as a good witch? But she also saw Harry being successful too. Why didn't she saw their parents, too? Was it because she now possessed a picture of them already?

"I wish we never found that mirror…" She mumbled as she finally fell asleep, exhausted. She dreamt of Lily and James that night. They were dancing together in a cosy living room, laughing. It was a pleasant dream until the familiar green flash blinded her and she heard her mother's scream. When Rohini woke up, she had fallen from her bed and was lying on the floor, shivering and tears rolling down her cheeks.

Xxx

"We have a problem."

Rohini froze in the act of eating a spoon of cereals to look at Ron. Her friend had just sat next to her at the Ravenclaw table. The holiday was coming to an end and some students were coming back to Hogwarts. Padma had sent her an owl, saying she will be back the next week.

"What do you mean, we have a problem?" Rohini asked, glancing around. "Where's Harry?"

" _That's_ the problem." Ron sighed. "He's obsessed with that mirror. I just asked him if he wanted to play chess or go see Hagrid but he refused and decided to go back to this bloody classroom."

Rohini cursed. She and Harry had barely talked those past two days. She had spent more time in the Ravenclaw's common room to study and finish her assignments. Not that she was avoiding Harry, though her brother has been avoiding her.

"He knows that what he saw isn't real, I told him it was just what he desired!" She said, putting her head in her hands. "What should we do?" She asked Ron who shook his head.

"Hopefully, he will come to realise that it's not good. Wanna go visit Hagrid with me?" He asked her and Rohini agreed. The snow was thicker than ever now and it took them twice as much time to reach Hagrid's hut.

"Hello yeh two!" He said as they stepped inside, sighing contently at the sight of the chimney fire. Hagrid pulled two heavy plaids on their shoulders and began to make tea. "Where's Harry?"

"Harry is not feeling too well." Rohini lied. "I told him to stay inside, wouldn't be wise to go out with all this snow."

"Yer right." Hagrid nodded. "Want some biscuits? I just bake 'em."

"No thanks." The two answered quickly.

"We just ate breakfast. We're too full." Ron explained, not wanting to offend Hagrid. "How was Christmas for you, Hagrid?"

"Excellent." He said, before smiling at Rohini. "Thanks for the gloves. Will come in handy, I can tell yeh!"

"Thanks for the chess figures. Those are wonderful." Rohini said with an honest smile. "Say Hagrid, can't you give us a tip about who Nicolas Flamel is?"

"Yer still on that?" Hagrid grumbled while serving them tea. "Yeh shouldn't put yer nose in Dumbledore's business. It's top secret."

"I guess it truly is, since we haven't found any information about him." Ron sighed, rubbing his hands together to warm them up. "Thanks." He said as Hagrid gave him a steamy cup of tea.

"Hagrid? Can I ask you a personal question?" Rohini asked with a little voice and Hagrid raised an eyebrow.

"It has nothing to do with Nicolas Flamel, heh?"

"Nope."

"Fine then, go on." Hagrid said, sitting on his armchair with his own cup of tea. Rohini stayed quiet for a few seconds before finally asking:

"Hagrid… what do you desire the most in your life?"

Hagrid frowned, looking confused by her question. He seemed to consider it, playing with his beard. Ron and Rohini exchanged a glance before looking at him again.

"I'd say it would be to have a dragon." Hagrid finally said. "Yeah, I'd always dream to have a dragon. Why?"

"Nothing, just curious." Rohini lied but she saw at Hagrid's face that he wasn't buying it. She took a sip of her tea before telling Hagrid what was bothering her. "Harry and I, we had a fight. Well, not really a fight, more like a sibling argument."

"Did yeh?" Hagrid asked with a frown and Rohini nodded.

"You see, Harry's true desire is to have our parents back, which is impossible of course. But I don't. I mean, of course I wish our parents were alive but… what I desire is different. Is it wrong?" Rohini asked and Hagrid left his empty cup in the sink before kneeling next to Rohini.

"There's nothing wrong with that, Rohini." He told her sincerely. "I lost my parents too, yeh now? And I wish they were still here, especially my dad. A brave man, very small too. But just like yeh, my biggest desire isn't for 'em to come back. Sometimes, we need to admit that people will be gone forever, but still live inside of us." He said, pointing at Rohini's chest where her heart was beating.

Rohini smiled weakly and hugged Hagrid.

"Thanks, Hagrid." She said and Hagrid gently patted her back. They stayed at their friend's place for the next hour, talking about dragons and Charlie Weasley's job. Then, they went back to the castle and walked past Fred and George throwing snowballs at Quirrell's turban.

The twins suggested that they joined them for another snow battle but Rohini told them she had to go to the library, which was true. She asked Ron if he wanted to join her in her search for Nicolas Flamel, but he politely declined.

Two hours later, she was frustratingly going through her third book, feeling more and more hopeless. Madam Pince, who was followed by ten floating books, passed in front of her table. It was commonly believed by Hogwarts students that Madam Pince had a romantic attraction or even relationship with Filch. They both had a short tempered personality and looked somehow like vultures.

Rohini hesitated. Harry had warned her not to speak about Nicolas Flamel to anyone, but how were they going to figure it out when there were thousands of books in the library? Rohini decided to play it innocently.

"Hum, excuse me, Madam Pince?" She called and the librarian stopped, raising an eyebrow at her. "I'm looking for some information, but I'm not sure if I picked up the right books." Rohini said, scratching her head. "You see, there's a name I think I've read somewhere but I can't remember which book it was. It's not really important, but I'm a curious person you see…"

"Typical Ravenclaw behaviour." The witch said and Rohini wasn't sure if it was a compliment or an insult. "Who are you looking for?" She asked and Rohini crossed her fingers that she wasn't going to get them in troubles when she asked "I'm looking for Mister Flamel. I think his name is Nicolas."

"Oh." Madam Pinch said. "Then you probably didn't see his name in a book, but rather on a chocolate frog card. He isn't part of the first years program. Wait here, I will find a book for you." She said, turning on her heels and still followed by the floating books. Rohini finally released the breath she had been holding.

To think it would have been so easy to just ask the librarian about it! Besides, if Flamel truly was one of the chocolate frog cards, it wouldn't be so suspicious of her to want to know more about him. Madam Pince reappeared five minutes later with an enormous old book called "French Famous Wizards through Ages".

"Here. You better not fold the pages nor eat while reading it." Madam Pinch told her with a scold before disappearing again. Rohini could barely contain her excitement as she went through the index to find out the pages about Nicolas Flamel and found him at page number 123.


	16. Chapter 16

Rohini had decided not to talk to the boys about what she had found until Hermione was back. She didn't have to wait for long, for their friend arrived two days later. In the meantime, something must have happened to Harry for he apologised to Rohini for his reaction about the mirror and promised not to go back to the empty classroom. They had hugged and Rohini had forgiven him.

She and Ron where playing chess in the Great Hall while Harry was at Quidditch practice when Hermione came back, a huge smile on her face. She was delighted to learn Rohini had finally found some information. They decided to go watch the Quidditch practice but realised something was wrong by the Gryffindors' grim faces.

As they left the field, Harry told them about Snape's sudden decision to be a Quidditch referee.

"What? That's ridiculous!" Rohini yelled.

"Don't play," said Hermione at once.

"Say you're ill," said Ron.

"Pretend to break your leg," Hermione suggested.

"Really break your leg," said Rohini and Ron said and Harry sighed, looking doomed.

"We'll make sure to keep an eye on him during the match." Rohini promised him as they walked back to the castle. "Besides, I finally know who Nicolas Flamel is!"

"Do you?" Harry asked.

"Yup. I found a book about French wizards by chance." Rohini lied. She pulled the book out of her bag and opened it at page 123. Then, she read aloud to the others:

"The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.

There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover.

Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight)." She finished and closed the book.

"Six hundred and sixty fifth birthday?!" Ron said, eyes wide opened. "He's bloody old!"

"The dog must be guarding Flamel's Stone!" Harry said. Hermione nodded.

"I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it." She said.

"That's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!" Rohini said, slapping her forehead. "And Snape is after it because he's always been after fame and fortune. It's pretty obvious by how he hates Harry and I for being famous."

"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying…" Harry sighed. "No wonder he would want it."

"I don't know, being immortal has never been an appeal to me…" Rohini said. "It sounds lonely."

"Not if you can keep your friends or family alive too." Ron pointed out. "His wife is immortal as well."

"I wouldn't mind having the Stone to survive our next Quidditch match." Harry said bitterly and Rohini gently patted his arm. "You will keep an eye on Snape, right?"

"Of course." Rohini promised, before somebody called her. Turning on her heels, she squealed when she saw Padma standing at the castle entrance. She ran and took her friend in her arms.

"Padma! You're back early!"

"Surprise!" Her friend laughed.

"How was your holiday at home?" Rohini asked and Padma smiled, pointing at a silver necklace with the letter "P" as a pendant around her neck.

"Parvati got the same one, it's a gift from mum! We had a lot of fun. Everybody was here, even my uncle and little cousins!"

"That sounds awesome!" Rohini said. "How many cousins do you have?"

"Enough to fill a whole classroom." Padma said and Rohini wondered if she was joking or not. Her only cousin was Dudley, and it was more than enough. "Did you like the coconuts cake?"

"Yeah, it was delicious! You need to teach me how to make them." Rohini said and they spent the rest of the day in the Ravenclaw Common Room, talking about what they ate and did over the past few days. Rohini kept the whole Nicolas Flamel and mirror parts to herself and showed Padma the family picture she got for Christmas.

"You really took from your dad!" Padma said. "Except for the eyes. You've got-"

"My mother's eyes." Rohini said, beaming. It felt really good to be told that she looked like them. Neither Uncle Vernon nor Aunt Petunia had ever commented on their similarities in the ten years they lived with them.

Then, Padma gave her some of the Indian recipes she knew by heart and Rohini wrote them down, the two girls lying on their bedroom carpet with Thranduil slept on Padma's back.

Xxx

The Gryffindor vs Slytherin game came too fast to their liking and Rohini woke up with dark circles under her eyes, having spent half the night learning offensive spells that could eventually save Harry from an early death. And judging by her Hermione's face, she had probably done the same.

She hugged Harry tightly and wished him good luck outside the locker room and then found her way through the crowd to Padma who had saved her a seat on top of the Ravenclaw benches. She was holding the Gryffindor banners Dean Thomas had made a few months ago and Rohini helped her unroll it.

A whisper ran down through the crowd as Dumbledore appeared at Lee Jordan's side. Rohini was relieved; nobody would be crazy enough to try to kill Harry right under Dumbledore's eyes. She borrowed Padma's binocular and smiled when she saw that Harry seemed relieved too. Snape on the other hand looked upset and didn't even bother to ask the captains to shake hands before blowing in his silver whistle.

The match barely lasted five minutes; Snape only had the time to give one of the Weasley a penalty for throwing a Bludger at him that Harry did a spectacular dive and barely avoided colliding with the ground (which seemed to be getting a habit for him) then raised his arm in triumph, the Snitch in his hand.

The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly. Rohini screamed on top of her lungs, kissing Padma on her cheek and making her blush a little.

The Gryffindors celebrate for two days, being so loud nobody in the castle had a proper night until McGonagall put a stop to their celebration. Harry and Ron seemed so happy that the girls were the one reminding them of the Philosopher's Stone problem. Snape was sweeping about in his usual bad temper, which surely meant that the Stone was still safe.

As the exams were slowly but surely coming closer, Hermione had started drawing up study schedules and color-coding all her notes and Rohini decided to do the same, which seems to exasperate the boys.

"Exams are just as important as Quidditch, Harry." Rohini had told her brother one day and judging by Ron's face, it was as if she had announced him that Harry had decided to retire from being a Seeker.

The teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione, though; they gave them so many assignments that even Rohini was beginning to feel overwhelmed. They spent most of their free time in the library, sometimes joined by the Patil twins and Lavender Brown, Parvati's best friend.

"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.

"Maybe we could take a break and sit down outside." Rohini suggested and Hermione bit her lips, hesitating before following them outside. Half the students had gotten the same idea as them, and Rohini could have sworn she saw the Weasley twins jumping into the lake.

"Odd, Hagrid's curtains are closed." Harry said and they look at Hagrid's hut. Indeed, the pink curtains were closed which seemed a bit odd considering the beautiful weather outside.

"Speaking of Hagrid, I think we should tell him that we know about the Stone." Hermione said. "I mean, maybe now that we do, he will give us more information?" The other nodded in agreement.

"Tonight, then. It will be less risky if we use my dad's cloak to sneak out." Harry said and Hermione seemed scandalised by the idea of breaking the curfew rule before sighing.

"Fine. But how are do you plan to hide the four of us under your cloak?"

"I'm not gonna be left behind." Rohini agreed and they thought about it for a few more seconds. "Maybe you could escort Hermione and Ron outside first, and they will hide while you come back to pick me up. I doubt anyone will spot us once we're out. I've heard it would be a cloudy night." Rohini suggested.

"Ok." Harry agreed and they didn't talk about it for the rest of the day.

Xxx

"Hermione, you just stepped on my foot!" Rohini hissed before pulling the Invisible cloak away. She had waited for Padma to be asleep to contact Harry with the Two Way Mirror and waited outside the dorm for him to arrive. They met no difficulties and so the four of them began to run to Hagrid's hut where smoke was rising from the chimney.

They knocked on the door and it opened to reveal Hagrid in a pink apron and oven mitts. He didn't seem pleased to see them and began to close the door but Rohini blocked it with her foot and winced at the pain.

"Oh, hello. Sorry, don't wish to be rude, but I'm in no fit state to entertain today." Hagrid said, trying to push her foot away.

"We know about the Philosopher's Stone!" They said in unison and Hagrid blinked.

"Oh. Alright, come in." He sighed before stepping aside to let them in. Fang jumped on Rohini, obviously happy to see her again. Harry waited for Hagrid to close the door before telling him why they were here.

"We think Snape's trying to steal it."

Hagrid laughed, bemused. "Snape? Blimey, Harry, yer not still on about him, are yeh?"

"Hagrid, we know he's after the Stone. We saw him. We just don't know why."

"Snape is one of the teachers protecting the Stone! He's not about to steal it!" Hagrid revealed and they blinked, shocked by the new information.

"Snape _what_?" Rohini repeated as if she could have possibly misunderstood what Hagrid had just said. "Impossible!"

"Yeh heard me right. Come on, now, I'm a bit preoccupied today."

" Wait a minute. One of the teachers?" Harry said with a frown.

Hermione sat on a chair and nodded. "Of course! There are other things defending the Stone, aren't there? Spells, enchantments."

"That's right. Waste of bloody time, if yeh ask me. Ain't no one gonna get past Fluffy. Hehe, not a soul knows how. Except for me and Dumbledore." Hagrid said proudly before he saw the look the four of them gave him. "I shouldn't have told yeh that. Shouldn't have told yeh that."

The cauldron over his fire set began to rattle, making them jump. Hagrid's smile was back as he hurried over and grabbed something, huffing at the sudden hotness. Rohini stepped closer to the table, curious.

"An egg?" She said, confused. "It seems a bit big for an omelette."

"I know what that is! But Hagrid, how did you get one? Those are illegals!" Ron said, frowning and Hagrid looked a bit gullible.

"I won it. Off a stranger I met down at a pub. Seemed quite glad to be rid off it, as a matter of fact."

"No wonder, if it's illegal." Rohini pointed out and Hagrid didn't have the time to answer that the egg rattled and cracked. Hermione and Harry were standing around the table too now, obviously curious. Suddenly, pieces flew off and Rohini gasped.

"Is that...a dragon?" Hermione said, looking horrified.

"That's not just a dragon. That's a Norwegian Ridgeback!" Ron said, amazed. "My brother Charlie works with these in Romania."

"Wow." Harry and Rohini said. Hagrid's eyes were watering as he looked proudly at the tiny creature.

"Isn't he beautiful? Oh. Bless him, look. He knows his mummy. Hehe. Hallo, Norbert."

The baby squeaked as it looked at Hagrid and Rohini felt like she was melting. Baby dragons were way cuter than what she would have expected.

"Norbert?" Harry said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, he's got to have a name, doesn't he? Don't you, Norbert?" Hagrid said, tickling the dragon's chin. "Dededede."

Norbert hiccupped and blew a fireball of fire into Hagrid's beard, making everybody jolt.

"Ohh! Oooh, ooh, ooh, well...he'll have to be trained up a bit, of course." Hagrid said, tapping his beard with one of his oven mitt. Something seemed to catch his attention outside as he frowned. "Who's that?" He asked and Rohini felt her blood turned cold as they saw Malfoy scampering away.

"Shit!" She shouted before running outside after the boy, ignoring the others calling her name.

"Stop right now, Malfoy!" She shouted, slowly catching up on him. She was quite fast from years of running away from bullies and finally caught the boy's sleeve, making them both roll into the wet grass.

"Let me go!" Draco shouted, pulling on Rohini's hair who hissed and tried to shove his hands away. Harry, Ron and Hermione were barely reaching their level that the light suddenly turned on outside the main gate. To their horror, Filch was standing right here, his cat in his arms and a smirk on his face.

"It smells like trouble." He said, sounding way too satisfied by the situation. They all gulped, Rohini still not letting go of Malfoy. It only got worse when McGonagall stepped outside in her dressing gown, lips pinched and looking furious.

Merlin's beard, things were turning sour.


	17. Chapter 17

They left McGonagall's office twenty minutes later, having lost 50 points each and looking grim. The old witch had been furious, asking them how dare they breaking the school rules. The only good thing that came out of it was that Malfoy had been punished too for he also was out of bed, even if he snitched about Norbert.

The following morning, notes were delivered to them at the breakfast table. They were all the same:

 _Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight._

 _Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall._

 _Professor Minerva McGonagall_

"Isn't it late for detention?" Rohini asked Padma, having a bad feeling about it. It was her second time in detention this year and hopefully, the last one. Having lost her appetite, she played with her scrambled eggs until the food vanished from the plates and was barely able to do anything productive that day.

At eleven o'clock that night, she said goodnight to Padma who wished her good luck. Then, she put on Madam Weasley's sweater to stay warm, her black cloak and her Ravenclaw scarf and joined everybody in the entrance hall. Filch was already there—and so was Malfoy. Rohini couldn't help but feel proud of herself when she spot the biting mark she left on Draco's left hand.

"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside. "I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at them. "It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out… hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office."

Rohini gulped, glad that Filch wasn't the Headmaster of Hogwarts. It would be a real torture otherwise – _literally_.

"Filch sounds delighted, it can't mean anything good for us." Hermione said.

The moon was bright, but clouds were scudding across it. The air was cold and Rohini was glad she was wearing so many layers of clothes. To their surprise, they stopped in front of Hagrid's hut where he was waiting, sniffing loudly.

"Norbert's gone. Dumbledore sent him off to Romania to live in a colony." He told them and Rohini gently patted his arm, realising he was holding a crossbow. "What if he don't like Romania? What if the other dragons are mean to him? He's only a baby, after all."

"Oh, for God's sake, pull yourself together, man. You're going into the forest, after all. Got to have your wits about you." Filch grunted and Rohini froze, hoping she had hear him wrong.

Ron let out a little moan, and Malfoy was paler than ever.

"The forest?" he repeated, and to Rohini's delight he did sound terrified. "We can't go in there at night—there's all sorts of things in there—werewolves, I heard."

As if it was answering Draco's worries, a wolf howled to the moon somewhere in the forest.

"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

"Oh, stop lecturin' them, yeh old prune. 'Snot your place to do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily before leaving. Rohini resisted the urge to cast a spell at him.

"I'm not going in that forest." Malfoy said, crossing his arms and raising his chin. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze. "My father will hear about it." He mumbled and Rohini snorted.

"Right then," said Hagrid, "Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."

He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.

"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood."

"What?!" Rohini squealed. "That's… that's _blood_? Hagrid, I don't want to sound like Malfoy, but I'm not sure First Years have their places in this forest. We can barely protect ourselves, let alone fight something with a killing instinct!"

Harry and the others nodded and Hagrid seemed embarrassed for a moment before shaking his head.

"'M sorry, can't go against Professor McGonagall's order. Anyway, this is the second time in a week that a unicorn is attacked. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"In your dreams." Draco said between his teeth. "We're gonna get ourselves killed."

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth. Rohini puffed.

"Fang? He's as much as a coward as you." She said and Malfoy threw her a nasty glance. They were like elementary school kids trying to pick a fight at every given occasion. Probably sensing that they weren't going to move on if he didn't interfere, Hagrid cleared his throat and raised a hand.

"So me, Ron, and Hermione will go one way and Draco, Harry, Rohini an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? But if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks. Be careful, and if something happen, do NOT panic. Let's go, now."

The forest was eerie. A thick mist was floating around and strange noises were coming from every direction. They could hear the dead branches cracking under their shoes and Rohini realised it was perfectly impossible to go unnoticed in a forest.

A little way into it they reached a fork in the muddy path. Hagrid and Coe went to the left and Rohini exchanged a glance with Harry before turning right, Fang and Malfoy behind them. The silence was uncomfortable and Rohini shuddered when she thought she saw a pair of glowing eyes in the bushes. The trees in the forest seemed ancient, dense and rough looking.

"I refuse to go further." Draco suddenly said, sitting on a tree's root. Fang lay at his feet, apparently agreeing with Draco. The Potter twins rolled their eyes. Except from the lamp held by Draco, they had no source of light for the trees were high and dense, hiding the moon.

"Fine, you can stay here. But we'll take the lamp." Rohini said, crossing her arms and leaning against the tree. "You just stepped into unicorn blood, by the way." She pointed out and Malfoy grimaced when he realised that indeed, his left shoe was in a puddle of sliver blood.

"Ew." He said, standing up to go clean up his shoe in the wet grass. Suddenly, he frowned. "Did you hear that?"

Rohini sized him by his cloak and pulled him down on his knees, waving at Harry to blow up the candle and hide behind the tree too. The three of them listened, Harry petting Fang to keep him quiet. Rohini could feel her heart beating fast. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. It suddenly stopped and Rohini closed her eyes, hoping the thing hadn't spotted them. Then, they heard it leave.

"What was that?" Harry asked as they stood up, shaking a bit and covered in dirt and dead leaves. Fang had drooled a bit on Rohini's cloak and she grimaced, wishing for nothing but a hot bubble bath and a cup of tea. "A werewolf?"

"No, a werewolf would have been able to sniff our sent, and we'll probably be dead already." Rohini said, rubbing her arms to chase her goosebumps away. "Come on, let's go." She said. " _Lumos_."

" _Lumos_." Harry and Draco repeated for their lamp was useless now. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were too thick. Rohini wouldn't admit it out loud but she was terrified as they found more and more splashes of blood. There was no way the poor unicorn was still alive.

"We can't go further." Malfoy said. "Let's go back."

"There's a clearing ahead." Harry told them and Rohini hesitated before nodding. They climbed a few huge roots and as Rohini began to take a step further, Harry stopped her.

"Look—" he murmured, his voice shaking. Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. Rohini dropped her wand, in shock, and ran closer to the thing. It was the unicorn, lifeless. Its mane was spread on the dark leaves and Rohini kneeled next to the poor thing, gently caressing its head.

"It's dead." She said, though it was obvious by now. Her throat was dry but her eyes watery.

Harry had taken one step closer to his sister when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered… Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast.

"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Malfoy screamed, running away and followed close by Fang. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Rohini who was staring, eyes opened wide in fear. She heard Harry screaming her name as the creature began to float fast towards her. Rohini acted by instinct and threw one of her shoes to the creature for she had dropped her wand earlier. It hissed and came closer and Rohini protected her face with her arms when the sound of hooves echoed through the clearing and something jumped clean over Rohini, charging at the figure. Rohini opened her eyes, and realised that the hooded figure was gone.

Instead, a centaur was standing over, with short blond curly hair and a sorrowful expression on his face. He looked young yet old at the same time. Rohini gulped as Harry joined them and helped her on her feet. He was holding Rohini's wand and gave it back to her. They stared at the centaur, not sure of what to do.

"Thanks for your help." Rohini said in a little voice. The centaur nodded.

"Potters, you must leave. You are known to many creatures here. The forest is not safe at this time. Especially for you, Harry Potter."

"What was this thing?" Rohini asked, still shaking.

"A monstrous creature. It is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Drinking the blood of a unicorn will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death. But at a terrible price. You have slain something so pure that the moment the blood touches your lips, you will have a half-life. A cursed life."

"That's awful." Rohini said, sniffing. "Who would dare to do something so awful?"

"Can you think of no one?" The centaur asked.

"Voldemort." Harry said. "But it can't be!"

" Do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"

"The Philosopher's Stone." The twins said in unison.

The centaur nodded again. His eyes lingered on the scar that stood out, livid, on Harry's forehead. Rohini realised it seemed more visible than usual.

"You better get back to Hagrid. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way." He said, kneeling to let Harry and Rohini clamber on his back.

"My name is Firenze."

"Nice to meet you." Rohini said, clutching his torso.

Firenze stood up and whisked around; they plunged off into the trees, leaving the dead unicorn and the clearing behind them. They made their way through the trees in silence. Rohini winced as Harry clenched her a bit too tightly and hoped she wasn't hurting Firenze either. Finally, they heard Fang bark and Firenze came to a stop as Hagrid and the rest appeared.

"Hello there, Firenze. I see yeh'v met our young Mr. and Mrs Potter. You all right there, Harry? You look a bit pale."

The twins slid off his back and Rohini offered him a tired but friendly smile.

"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured to Rohini, before turning to Harry. "You are safe now. Good luck." said Firenze. The, he turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest.

"The unicorn is dead, Hagrid." Rohini announced. "Something… something drank its blood."

"I think yeh should go back to the castle now." Hagrid said, looking grim. "I will walk yeh back."

They walked in silence, the twins still haunted by the hooded figure that might have been Voldemort. For the second time in their life, they had faced their parents' murderer.

Xxx

Rohini wasn't able to sleep that night; every time she closed her eyes, she would see the corpse of the unicorn with Voldemort drinking its blood, followed by a flash of green light. Feeling that Harry probably wouldn't be able to sleep either, she slowly sneaked out of the girl dorm, holding her two way mirror and tried to join Harry.

"Hey." He said, looking as exhausted as her. "Can't sleep?"

"No, not really." Rohini sighed, sitting on the cold marble floor. "You're with Hermione and Ron?"

"They just want back to bed. We talked a bit about what just happened." Harry then repeated to her what they had been saying. "Snape wants the Stone for Voldemort, and Voldemort's waiting in the forest. It's obvious, now."

"What I don't understand is, Snape is a teacher at Hogwarts. Wouldn't Dumbledore be aware of him working for Voldemort if it was the case? He's Voldemort biggest enemy after all. With Dumbledore around, he won't touch us."

"Well, he sure was ready to try tonight." Harry pointed out and Rohini shivered. Harry was right; he had been so close to her and if Firenze hadn't been here to save them...

Dumbledore or not, Voldemort will probably do anything to get the Stone and finally get rid of them. ' _No more Twins who Lived._ ' Rohini thought grimly as she slipped under her blanket, staring at the moon by the window. It was the same colour as unicorn blood, she realised with a shiver.


	18. Chapter 18

It was finally time for students to deal with their exams and the library was crowded with Ravenclaws hoarding books like goblins, almost hissing every time somebody spoke louder than a whisper. Hermione had joined Rohini and Padma inside but the boys had refused, saying they turned into nasty harpies when they were studying.

The days were getting hotter and the library reeked atrociously, even with the windows opened. Everybody thought Miss Pince was going to murder Seamus Finnigan when he accidentally enflamed the feather he had been practicing on with Dean. She had refused to let the Gryffindors inside her library until Professor McGonagall personally came down her office to have a talk with her.

They had written papers and practical exams and each student had been given a new anti-cheating quill. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk. Rohini was so nervous about doing her best that she managed to make her fruit sing along as it dance. Professor Flitwick had looked absolutely delighted and gave Ravenclaw five points, winking at her and telling her to keep it secret.

As for Professor McGonagall, she expected them to turn a mouse into a snuffbox and the prettier the box, the more points you got. Once again, Rohini did an excellent job and she could have sworn she saw McGonagall smile.

Snape asked them to brew a Forgetfulness Potion and Rohini was creeped out by how he breathed in everybody's neck while watching them. Rohini thought she did well, but wasn't sure she'll managed to get a nice note since Snape hated them. At least, she didn't make her cauldron explode like Neville.

Their last exam was History of Magic. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, they all cheered loudly, finally free. Rohini felt like it was the first time she was able to breathe properly in months.

"I'm not against studying but thanks god it's finally over." Rohini sighed as they all lay down in the grass, savouring the warmness of the sun against their skin. "I don't want to hear about mice until September the first." She added, sitting up and snorting as she watched the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan tickling the tentacles of a giant squid swimming in the Lake.

"Since when do we have a squid at Hogwarts?" Padma asked as a tentacle began to tickle the three troublemakers too.

"Considering all the creatures in the Forbidden Forest, I feel like a squid is the most normal thing living here." Rohini pointed out and the two girls giggled, feeling carefree.

"You could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet." Ron told Harry who indeed looked pretty gloomy.

"I'm sure you did well." Rohini assured him, but Harry grunted and jumped on his feet, walking away. Frowning, Rohini told Padma she will be back and went after her brother, followed by Ron and Hermione. Harry was rubbing his forehead.

"I wish I knew what this means!" he burst out. "My scar keeps hurting since the accident in the forest."

"Do you think it might be reacting to Voldemort's presence here?" Rohini asked him, glancing at the Dark Forest.

"I think it's a warning, it means danger's coming…" Harry said. Rohini would have loved to call him dramatic, but she knew he was right.

"Harry, relax, the Stone's safe for now. We've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once; he's not going to try it again in a hurry." Ron pointed out.

"Maybe Hagrid would want Fluffy back now that Norbert is gone." Rohini joked and Harry froze. He was looking at Hagrid, sitting outside his hut.

"Of course!" Harry said before rushing towards him.

"Where're you going?" Rohini shouted. "Harry!"

"I've just thought of something," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope. "Don't you think it's a bit odd that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

"What are you talking about?" said Ron but Rohini turned pale, realising what Harry had in mind.

Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.

"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink? I just made some limona-"

"Hagrid, I've got to ask you something." Harry cut him. "You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off. Why?"

"You wouldn't happen to have talked about Fluffy, did you?" Rohini asked slowly, exchanging a glance with Harry. Hagrid frowned, looking at them both.

"Well, I just mentioned that after Fluffy, a dragon's gonna be no problem for meh."

"Oh no…" Hermione moaned and Rohini could tell where this was going. She asked Hagrid if the stranger had been interested by the three headed dog and Hagrid gave her a look as if she had said something silly.

"Of course he was interested in Fluffy! How often d'yeh come across a three headed dog? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep—"

Hagrid suddenly looked horrified and so did the four of them.

"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey—where're yeh goin'?" He yelled but they were already running towards the castle.

"We- need- to tell- Dumbledore." Rohini panted as they came to a halt at the entrance hall. She was all sweaty and her bangs were sticking to her forehead. Harry was going to add something when a shadow stood behind him.

"Well, well, well." Snape said slowly and they all gulped. "Now, what would three young Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw such as yourselves be doing inside on a day like this?"

"It's too hot outside." Rohini improvised. "We, huh, got sweaty and wanted to cool down a bit. The castle is, well, fresh." She said, resting her hand on the wall to demonstrate her argument. Snape's eyes narrowed, as he obviously didn't buy it.

"You want to be careful. People will think you're…up to something." Snape said, staring at Harry.

"We're probably not the only one." Rohini couldn't help but say. Snape glared at her, lips pinched. "I mean, I thought I heard Peeves saying he was gonna do some ruckus in the dungeon. Hope he will not mess up with your potions." She said innocently and Snape rushed towards his office, his cape floating behind him.

"That was both bloody stupid and brilliant." Ron said. "Wish Peeves is really messing up with his stuffs."

"We should ask McGonagall to see Dumbledore." Harry said and the three others followed after him. They rushed inside her classroom, startling her. Putting back her glasses over her long nose, she raised an eyebrow as they stopped in front of her desk, all panting and looking worried.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, rather bravely, Harry and Ron thought.

"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated with a frown. "Why?"

"It's sort of secret," Ron said which was probably the wrong thing to do for Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."

"He's gone?" said Harry frantically. "Now?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time—"

"But this is important." Rohini moaned.

"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Potter?"

"Professor—it's about the Philosopher's Stone—"

"How do you know—?" McGonagall spluttered, looking troubled.

"Professor, I think—I know—that Sn—that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore." Harry insisted. She eyed him with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor—"

"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine if you do not wish to get another hour of detention."

Rohini grabbed Harry by the arm and forced him to follow her outside, Ron and Hermione right behind them.

"It's tonight," said Harry, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot. "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I'm sure."

"We can't let him win, we've got to do something!" Rohini said. "Fluffy was probably more dangerous than any enchantments and now that Snape knows how to go past him, we're doomed!"

"Not if we get the stone before him." Harry said. "I'll use dad's Invisible Cloak and get down that trapdoor."

"Are you crazy?" Rohini squealed, waving at him. "Look at you! What can you do on your own against Hogwarts teachers' protection spells?"

"I will go with him." Ron said.

"Then I'll come too." Rohini said, crossing her arms and Harry opened his mouth to protest but she didn't let him. "Yes, you heard me right Harry James Potter. I'm not gonna let you die because you wanted to be a mighty hero. We either do it together, or not at all."

"Rohini is right, Harry." Hermione said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I will come, too."

"Alright." Harry finally sighed and Rohini smiled at Hermione. "We act tonight; McGonagall is probably suspicious now and she will go after us if she doesn't see us for dinner."

"You should lend me your cloak; I'll hide under it at the end of the meal while the Ravenclaws walk back to our tower. I'll wait for you outside the Gryffindors common room." Rohini said and Harry nodded. They went to a deserted corridor where he lent Rohini their father's Invisible Cloak. Then they went back outside, acting all innocently every time McGonagall or Snape looked at them suspiciously.

"We're totally going to get expelled." Hermione sighed and Rohini felt her heart sink at the idea of never coming back to Hogwarts. Hopefully Hermione was wrong. Well, they will know the answer tomorrow… Assuming they will survive the night.

Xxx

While waiting for her brother and friends, Rohini sat right next to the portrait of the Fat Lady, thinking about spells she had learn over the past months, hoping they will come in handy. She had been wearing Padma's pearl bracelet for luck and was playing with it when Harry, Ron and Hermione finally came out of their Common Room. They looked a bit nervous and explained to her that Neville had tried to stop them.

Rohini praised Hermione for thinking so quickly to use ' _Petrificus Totalus_ ' and thought they might need it again overnight. They tried to sneak out all together under the Invisibility Cloak and hoped nobody will notice the pairs of feet walking in the corridors. In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them. They didn't meet anyone and reached the third floor safely.

Harry took off the cloak and folded it.

"Ready?" He asked and they all nodded before entering the room. A bad surprise was waiting for them; a giant harp was playing alone in a corner and the three heads of Fluffy were snoring loudly.

"Snape's already got past Fluffy." Harry said and Rohini cursed. They kneeled next to one of its huge paws and pushed it away from the trapdoor.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," Harry said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid," said Ron. "Urg, its breath stinks as much as Malfoy!"

"How would you know how Malfoy smells like?" Rohini asked, confused.

"We fought at the last Quidditch game, remember?"

"Shut up you two!" Harry said. They did and silence fell on the room. Rohini frowned.

"Hey, isn't it a bit too quiet?"

"Oh no…" Hermione said, and they all knew what she was thinking: the harp had stopped playing. Drool began to fall on them and slowly, they looked up and met Fluffy's yellow eyes. Screaming, Harry opened the trapdoor and they all jumped inside right in time before Fluffy's fangs closed on them.

They fell down a tunnel and Rohini felt something funny in her stomach as the walls vanished and she felt like she was floating for a second before falling into something soft.

"Huff!" She said as Harry fell on her, followed by Ron. It was dark around them and Rohini grimaced as she patted what they were lying on. "It feels… squishy." She said.

"What's this stuff?" Ron asked, sitting up.

"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall." Harry said.

"I'm not so sure…" Rohini said, pointing at the tendrils that were slowly ramping towards them. "Oh no!"

She leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall as the plant started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles. As for Harry and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing. Hermione told them to calm down, though she sounded just as panicked.

"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them. "I know what this is—it's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck.

"No, she got a point!" Rohini said, standing still. "Do as she said, don't move!"

"If you don't, it will only kill you faster." Hermione said and Ron seemed to jiggle more frantically.

"Wrong thing to say, Hermione!" Rohini said before the plant sucked her down below, quickly followed by Hermione and Harry. They had land on hard ground, in an empty cave. Ron however was still screaming above them.

"He's gonna get himself killed if he doesn't relax!" Rohini panicked, crushing Harry's hand as she helped him on his feet. "Devil's Snare hates fire, but we can't burn it without hurting Ron."

"It also hates sunlight!" Hermione said, pointing her wand upwards. " _Lumus Solem_!"

A beam of light shot out of her wand, blinding them. The plant shrieked and recoiled and Ron finally came crashing on the hard floor.

"Ron, are you okay?" Hermione said, helping him back on his feet.

"Whew. Lucky we didn't panic!" Ron said and Rohini slapped the back of his head. "Now, what?"

"This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward. All they could hear apart from their footsteps was a soft rustling and clinking sound.

"Sounds like wings. Hope it's no nasty pixies or something…" Rohini said, pointing her wand forwards, ready to protect herself.

They reached the end of the passageway where a single door was waiting. Taking a deep breath, they stepped inside and gasped. A hundred jewel-bright birds were fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.

"What a strange kind of birds." Hermione breathed.

"It's not birds, those are keys! Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Ron.

"Let's see." Rohini said, crossing the room without a single key trying to attack her. She pulled on the handle. "It's locked."

" _Alohomora_." Hermione tried, but the door didn't bulge.

"Now what?" said Ron.

"These birds… they can't be here just for decoration," said Hermione.

"There's a broomstick!" Rohini said, pointing at the old thing floating a few steps away.

"But there are hundreds of keys!" Hermione pointed out. "How do we know which one to catch?"

Ron examined the lock on the door.

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one—probably silver, like the handle." He said. "We have the same kind of lock at home."

"Harry, you're a seeker. Seek for our key." Rohini tried to joke and Harry rolled his eyes before looking at the flying keys. They waited for two minutes, before he finally spot it.

"That one!" he called to the others. "That big one, with bright blue wings—the feathers are all crumpled on one side."

"Hold on, let me try something." Rohini said, pointing her wand at the needed key. " _Petrificus Totalus!_ " To her surprise, the key did stop though the others didn't. "It should be easier for you to catch it." She told Harry who nodded before grabbing the broomstick. Instantly, every key dived and went after him.

"This complicates things a bit!" Ron said and Rohini nodded, unable to look away from Harry who hurried to catch the petrified key and zoomed by to throw the key to Hermione, yelling at her to open the door.

"Hurry up!" Rohini screamed as she held the door opened for Harry to fly in before slamming it shut, hearing the keys colliding against it in the previous room. "Wow, the teachers weren't joking when they set these enchantments."

"That's the whole point." Hermione reminded her and Rohini rolled her eyes.

The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.

"Oh no…" Hermione said.

They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces, looking like ghosts. Rohini shivered.

"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room."

As if it was reacting to Ron's words, a few figures moved out of the chessboard.

"I think," said Rohini, "we're going to have to be chessmen." She could tell Hermione was scared and decided to keep for herself the fact they'll probably get badly hurt if they made a wrong move.

"Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess." He told Harry and Hermione.

"We're not offended," said Harry quickly. "Just tell us what to do, you or Rohini."

"Ron is a better player, let him decide." Rohini said, nodding at Ron who smiled awkwardly before looking around, thinking.

"Well, Harry, you'll play the bishop, and Hermione, you go there instead of that castle."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron.

"And what about me?" Rohini asked.

"Well, you'll be our Queen."

"Great." Rohini lied, stepping on the chessboard and putting her hand on Ron's shoulder. "I trust you on this, champion." Then, she leaned closer to whisper in his ear. "You're aware of what might happen if it's like wizard chess, right?"

"I do." Ron said and they all get into position. Rohini glanced at Harry and saw in his eyes that he knew what she had just discussed with Ron. Rohini gave him a weak smile before looking in front of her as a white piece moved forwards.

Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Every time a piece was taken, the other one smashed them brutally. Rohini closed her eyes, putting all her faith into Ron's skills.

"Harry—move diagonally four squares to the right." Ron said before pointing at Hermione. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on. We can't let them get close to our King."

Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of shattered black players slumped along the wall but Ron didn't lose his calm and took a few white pieces off too.

"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think—let me think…"

The white queen turned her blank face toward him.

"Yes…" said Ron softly, "it's the only way… I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Hermione screamed and Rohini clenched her fists; she had seen it coming but had refused to believe it, hoping for a miracle.

"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices!"

"But what's the point of getting to the stone if you die?" Hermione screamed. Ron's lips were trembling but his decision was made.

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"

There was no alternative. Rohini refused to watch it and closed her eyes again.

"Here I go." Ron said and then he stepped forward. "Check." The white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor—Hermione screamed but Rohini told at her to stay on her square for the game wasn't over yet. She nodded at her brother. Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left.

"Checkmate." He said. The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. Rohini, Hermione and Harry ran to Ron and Rohini checked his pulse.

"He's alive. Thanks god, he's alive!" She said, tearing up. Hermione hugged her, her tears soaking Rohini's sweater. Relieved, Harry stood up.

"Take care of Ron. Then, go to the owlery. Send a message to Dumbledore. I'm gonna stop Snape."

" _We_ 're gonna stop Snape." Rohini corrected him, standing up. "I will not leave you alone, Harry. We'll do it- together." She said, determined as she took Harry's hand.

"I believe in you." Hermione said, giving them a weak smile as she rubbed her eyes. "Be careful."

"See you later, Hermione." Rohini said before Harry and she went to the last door. They took a deep breath and glanced at each other.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Then, they stepped inside and they had barely passed the door that it slammed shut behind them. Rohini stopped breathing, eyes wide opened in shock. They were right when they thought somebody was already there, yes. But it wasn't Snape.

"You!" She shouted, and the man smiled at them. No, it definitely wasn't Snape. An unfamiliar smirk on his lips, wearing the same old purple turban was Professor Quirrell.

That was a twist they had never expected.


	19. Chapter 19

Harry began to step closer, a hand on his scar but Rohini stopped him. Quirrell's smile only seemed to get bigger and Rohini finally noticed he was standing in front of the Erised Mirror.

"Protective of your brother, as usual." He said. He wasn't stuttering anymore and his eye wasn't twitching either.

"It was an act all along, wasn't it?" Rohini asked coldly. "Playing harmless. Nobody would suspect a pitiful teacher likes you."

"But Snape…" Harry said, confused. "He hates us!"

"Severus?" Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp. Rohini clenched her hand around her wand. "Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. He does hate you, too. All thanks to your father, I suppose. Your silly, stupid father."

"You filthy little-!" Rohini said but Quirrell shushed her.

"Tut, tut, tut, Potter!" He said. "You wouldn't want to lose more points for foolish language against a teacher, would you?"

"You're no teacher of mine." Rohini said, trembling from anger. "It was you and not Snape who tried to kill Harry, right?" She asked and Harry glanced at her. She took a step closer. "At the Quidditch match. You jinxed his broomstick."

"I did, yes." Quirrell said, unperturbed. "Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape's robe. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a counter curse, trying to s-"

Rohini didn't let him finish.

" _Flipendo_!" She yelled, aiming at Quirrell who waved his hand. An invisible wave hit Rohini, sending her into a column. She hissed at the pain as her head collided against the cold stone. Her vision got slightly blurred from both the shock and losing her glasses.

"Rohini!" Harry shouted, running to her side and helping her to sit up.

"'m fine." Rohini grumbled. Actually, she was anything but fine.

"I knew you two were a danger right from the off. Especially after Halloween, when you stopped the Troll I had so carefully let in." Quirrell sighed, picking up the wand Rohini had dropped. He examined it for a few seconds before throwing it away. The wand landed right next to the mirror.

"Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off—and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly."

"You're the worse." Rohini spat. "I hope Dumbledore will kick your bloody damn ass!" She said, too furious to care about being polite but Quirrell wasn't listening, his eyes fixed on the mirror.

"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this …"

"We need to keep him away from the mirror." Harry whispered to Rohini who nodded. Wandless, she didn't have much choice than attacking Quirrell in a good old Muggle fashion. Roaring, she stood up and ran towards Quirrell and jumped on him, biting and kicking.

"Get off! GET OFF!" He shouted, his skin turning slightly red where Rohini's hand touched him. Harry thought about casting the petrifying spell but he was scared to hit his sister instead. Another wave hit Rohini who rolled a few feet away from Quirrell. It looked as if his face had caught a sunburn in the shape of Rohini's hands and a nasty biting mark was bleeding on his right ear.

"You little-"He began but an odd, ghostly voice cut him as Harry kneeled next to Rohini who was barely conscious, a nasty bruise on her forehead.

"Use the boy… Use the boy…" The voice said. It looked like it was coming from Quirrell himself and Rohini could tell she wasn't going to like the truth behind it.

"Yes, Master. Come here, Potter." Quirrell ordered but Rohini grabbed Harry's sleeve, shaking her head. "Now, or you can say goodbye to your stupid sister!" Quirrell threatened and Harry stood up and walked forward him and the mirror shakily.

"Tell me. What do you see?" Quirrell asked and Rohini wished she could see what Harry was seeing in his reflection. Realising Quirrell wasn't paying any attention to her now, too focused on Harry and the Mirror, she slowly crawled towards her wand.

"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," Harry said and Rohini could tell he was lying. "I—I've won the House Cup for Gryffindor."

Quirrell cursed again.

"Get out of the way," he said. As Harry moved aside, Rohini stood up with difficulties. The high voice spoke again, though Quirrell wasn't moving his lips. Rohini gulped.

"He lies… He lies…"

"Potter, come back here!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell me the truth! What did you just see?"

The high voice spoke again.

"Let me speak to him… face-to-face…"

"Master, you are not strong enough!" Quirrell said, looking worried. Rohini looked at Harry and realised his scar looked more vivid than ever. He was obviously in pain, judging by his clenched jaw.

"I have strength enough… for this…" The voice said and Quirrell nodded. He then reached up and began to unwrap his turban. Rohini tugged on Harry's sleeve, nodding at the stairs. They should escape now that Quirrell was busy. But Harry didn't move, as if hypnotised. The turban fell away and Quirrell turned slowly on spot. Rohini felt like her legs would have given up if it wasn't for Harry's presence by her side.

Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a snake-like face. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, staring right at the twins.

"Harry Potter…" it whispered before looking at Rohini. "…And his sister."

"The sister has a name." Rohini said with more bravery than what she actually possessed. The head laughed. It was one of the creepiest things she had ever seen and heard.

"I had always value bravery… Yes, your parents were brave… I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight… but your mother needn't have died… she was trying to protect you. What a foolish woman!"

"Shut up!" Rohini shouted. "Don't talk about our parents like this!"

"Rohini." Harry warned her, stepping in front of her. "You're Voldemort." He said and Voldemort nodded.

"See what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapor… I have form only when I can share another's body… but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds…"

"I doubt the Unicorn was willing to let you suck the life out of it." Rohini spat. She might have been bolder than usual, but right now it wasn't reason, but anger that controlled her. Anger towards her parents' murderer.

"Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks… you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest… and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own…" Voldemort said, perfectly calm. He seemed more interested by Harry than her. "Now… why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?" He said and both twins froze.

Rohini glanced at Harry's pocket and realised that indeed, there was something in it. The twins took a step backwards and Quirrell forwards. It looked awkward and terrifying, this head on the wrong side of his body.

"Don't be a fool," snarled Voldemort. "Better save your own life and join me… or you'll meet the same end as your parents…"

"NEVER!" The twins shouted. Harry sprang toward the door, but Quirrell snapped his fingers and flamed blocked the way. He then began to float towards them but Rohini shouted " _Lumus Solem_!", blinding him with the flash of blue light. Harry passed her the stone and she began to run to the left and Harry to the right.

Voldemort hadn't seen Harry giving the stone to Rohini and urged Quirrell to go after him. Quirrell grabbed him and they rolled on the floor but Quirrell quickly let go of Harry with a yelp, looking at his fingers: they were blistering before his eyes.

"Seize him! SEIZE HIM!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged, both hands around Harry's neck. Rohini screamed Harry's name and told him to keep touching Quirrell who was howling in agony, burning under Harry's touch.

"Master, I cannot hold him—my hands—my hands!" Quirrell finally let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms, his left hand already turning into ashes.

"Then kill him, fool, and be done!" screeched Voldemort.

Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse but Harry grabbed his face.

"AAAARGH!" They both looked in pain, Harry because of his scar and Quirrell because of Harry. Rohini ran towards them and crushed Quirrel's second hand with hers; it must have been ready to fall into dust for even her touch, less powerful than Harry, crushed his hand. Quirrell fell on his knees and Harry collapsed over him.

"NO!" Voldemort screamed, furious as Quirrell's body turned into dust. Rohini grabbed Harry and tried to pull him as far as possible even though she had no strength left. Her legs suddenly gave up and she fell hard on her knees. She rested Harry's head on her laps, one hand on his forehead and the other holding up the stone.

"We did it, Harry!" She said, relieved when she thought she heard something being her. Turning, her eyes opened wide in terror as a dust cloud began to form and Voldemort's face appeared. He opened his red shining eyes and screamed in a distorted voice as the cloud rushed forward right through Rohini's chest. She gasped in pain as her whole body felt like it was going to explode, her heart beating way too fast. She collapsed against the cold marble floor once more, having one last look at the mirror where she thought she saw Lily and James Potter smiling at her before losing consciousness.

The Philosopher's stone had fallen right between Harry and she, shining.

Xxx

Rohini wondered when she fell asleep. Her pillow was softer than usual and the mattress felt like she was on a cloud. Smiling, she buried her head deep into the pillow, hoping to fall back asleep when the nagging feeling that she was forgetting something hit her.

 _Fluffy, Ron hit by a giant chess figure, Quirrell…_

Her eyes suddenly flashed opened and she gasped for air, suddenly panicking. Voldemort! Voldemort was back! Someone's hand fell on her shoulder and she moved away, calming down as she recognised the blurry face of Albus Dumbledore. The old man handed her her glasses and she pulled them up her nose before looking around, recognising the hospital wing. How did she get here?

She also realised there were many bouquets and candies next to her bed, and she felt her chest getting warm when she recognised Padma's coconuts biscuits. Still, there was no sign of her brother.

"Where's Harry?" She croaked. The curtain around her bed was pushed and Harry appeared, all bandaged but smiling. "Harry!"

"Rohini!" He said and the two of them hugged as if they had been separated for years. "We did it!" Harry said with a huge smile on his face.

"What do you mean? Is everyone alright? What about the Stone? Professor, Voldemort he-"

"I know, I know." Dumbledore said calmly. "Your friends are alright and made sure to let the school knows about what you did. As for the Stone, my dear friend Nicolas Flamel and I decided it was for the best to destroy it."

Rohini knew there were many questions to be asked, but she still felt exhausted.

"Voldemort… will he come back?" She managed to ask, taking Harry's hand.

"Ah, I'm afraid there are ways in which he can return." Dumbledore said, looking at them above his half-moon glasses. "I shall leave you now. You're in good company." He said, smiling at Harry. "I hope to see you two for our last feast of the year." He said, before taking his leave. Rohini looked at her hands; they looked slightly burned.

"Did he tell you why you couldn't touch him?" She asked and Harry nodded.

"It was because of mum. She sacrificed herself for us and I'm not sure how it's possible, but her love protected us. It's stronger for me because I'm the one Voldemort tried to kill, but it must have rippled and left its mark in you, too."

"Glad I'm still the normal twin." Rohini teased him and they smiled at each other. "I'm glad we both made it, Harry."

"So am I." He said, taking her in his arms once again. "Do you know why Snape hates us, by the way?"

"Quirrell said it was because of dad."

"Dumbledore told me that dad saved his life and that Snape hated being in debt to him."

"That's so stupid. He's a grown up adult, not a gloomy teenager." Rohini pointed out and Harry shrugged. They sat in silence for the rest of the afternoon, thinking about everything that had happened over the past few days. At some point, Ron and Hermione tried to pay them a visit and it took five good minutes to convince Madam Pomfrey to let them in. Rohini felt too tired to talk and so it was Harry told them everything: Quirrell; the mirror; the Stone; and Voldemort. Rohini must have fallen asleep as he talked and woke up an hour before the final feast at Hogwarts.

She hurried to go take a bath, one of the only advantages when ending up at the Hospital wing was the warm bubble bath, then get dressed and hurried to run to the Great Hall. She and Padma yelled when they saw each other and Rohini almost knocked her off her feet when she jumped into her arms.

Padma had barely released her that Hagrid picked her up and turned on his feet, making her feel like she was flying. Hagrid was shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down into his beard and Rohini promised him that it wasn't his fault, that Quirrell had used him and that there was nothing to be forgiven of.

Rohini waited for Harry, Ron and Hermione to arrive to step inside the Great Hall. Almost everybody clapped when the twins walked to their respective House table as they had all heard about what had happened. Rohini blushed, less nervous but still feeling awkward when she was the centre of all attention.

The Great Hall was decked out in the Slytherin colors and a huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table. It sobered up Rohini a little and she clenched her fists when she saw Draco smirking at her from the Slytherin table.

Dumbledore stood up, hitting a spoon against a golden cup. Silence fell on the Hall.

"Another year gone!" he said cheerfully. "What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were… you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts…" The Weasley twins cheered up loudly, making everybody giggle.

"Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Rohini felt bitter: if Snape hadn't taken away so many points from her, the Ravenclaw would have won.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little. Rohini straightened up.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes…

"First—to Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling. Rohini cheered just as loudly, clapping her hands furiously and ignoring the inching feeling in her palms. Dumbledore raised his hand.

"Second—to Miss Hermione Granger, for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

Hermione buried her face in her arms and Ronini grinned, pretty sure her friend was now crying.

"Third—to Mr. Harry Potter…" said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. "…for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House sixty points. But let's not forget Mr Neville Longbottom; it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Gryffindor for his courage."

The Gryffindors looked happier than children on Christmas. Rohini smiled proudly to her friends. Still, Dumbledore asked for silence.

"Of course, it would be unfair of me to forget Miss Rohini Potter, whose brave heart made her stood up against Evilness to protect those she loves." Dumbledore said, smiling at Rohini who felt the tears coming up to her eyes. "And so, to Miss Rohini Potter, I award sixty points."

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Ravenclaw table. Padma yelled and brought Rohini in a tight embrace, congratulating her and giving her two loud kiss on the cheeks.

"You've done it!" She told Rohini. "You've disturb the universe!" She cried, referencing to that conversation months ago about leaving Harry's shadow.

Professor Flitwick was standing on his chair, throwing his hat into the air and making glasses dance. Even McGonagall was beaming, for her house didn't come last for the first time in seven years. Snape looked furious, glaring at Dumbledore.

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became a beautiful dark blue; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a proud eagle took its place, opening his beak and shrieking. Rohini was hugged and applauded by every single Ravenclaw but was too shocked to care. Even Lisa mumbled a "well done" as she passed behind her.

Yes, Padma was right. Against all odds, she had disturbed the universe and now Professor Flitwick was proudly holding the House Cup which was as big as him. The feast was just as splendid. Only the Slytherins were looking bitter, though she saw one of two girls at their table flashing her a discreet smile and Rohini gave them a little nod; who said that every bad people were put in Slytherin?

The exams result came the day after via mail and Rohini was beaming when she saw that she didn't fail a single exam and even managed to get an honourable note in Potions. All her friends passed, even Neville who seemed to be more appreciated now. There were also notes with the results, warning them not to use magic over the holidays. It was a shame really, for Rohini had hoped she and Harry could have practiced together.

It's with nostalgia that they emptied their wardrobes and packed their trunks. Rohini exchanged her address and phone number with Padma, promising to stay in contact but warning her that it might be a bit difficult, considering the Dursleys' personality. Padma promised not to get offended if she got no news from her then, and told her that they will meet again in two months anyway, which seemed years away to Rohini.

Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake and Rohini looked at the castle slowly disappearing with a sigh.

"We'll be back soon." Harry told her, taking her hand. "I promise."

For the second time in their life they took the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and slowly turned into towns, eating too many candies that they had bought from the trolley lady and pulling off their wizard robes to change into normal clothes.

Finally; the train stopped and they stepped into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross station. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.

Ron and Hermione smiled brightly as they spotted their families and insisted on introducing the twins to them properly.

"You must come and stay this summer," said Ron, "both of you—I'll send you an owl. They can, right mum?"

"Of course, you two are always welcomed." Molly Weasley said, hugging them both. Her daughter, Ginny, smiled at them shyly. "Now, we can't let your father wait for too long. Percy, Fred, George! Come on!"

Ron waved at them one last time and Rohini pointed at someone waiting a few steps away. It was Uncle Vernon, still purple-faced, still mustached and still looking irritated by the mere sight of the twins. Behind him stood Aunt Petunia and Dudley, looking terrified at the sight of Hedwig and Thranduil.

"Hurry up, we haven't got all day." He said, waving at them.

"Have a safe way to home!" They heard Hermione shout as she walked away with her parents.

"We're not going home." Rohini said, smiling knowingly at Harry. "Not really."

The twins smiled. With the Dursleys not knowing that they couldn't use magic on them, their summer promised to be rather peaceful after this one hell of a year. Sitting up in the car, Rohini saw Padma standing on the other side of the road, waving at her.

Yes, Rohini couldn't wait to be back to Hogwarts already. Back to their new home and newfound families. The universe had begun to shift and she wasn't done disturbing it.

It's the end! Thank youto everybody who took the time to read it. I hope you had fun, and that you enjoyed Rohini's character. Thank you!


End file.
